North Zone B Div Volleyball: Xinmin hold off Yishun Town to maintain unbeaten run

Xinmin Secondary, Friday, February 3, 2012 — Xinmin Secondary came back from one set down to beat Yishun Town Secondary 2-1 (20-25, 25-18, 25-21) to maintain their unbeaten run at the North Zone B Division Boys’ Volleyball Championship.

In a later match, Punggol Secondary beat Anderson Secondary 2-0 (25-20, 25-17) to top the table.

Fresh from a victory over Punggol Secondary two days earlier, Yishun Town were looking to scalp yet another big name as they faced defending champions Xinmin Secondary. Despite getting off to a good start, they were unable to beat Xinmin as the latter outscored them in the attacking department.

Xinmin had a total of 43 kills, eight blocks and five service aces. Yishun Town, on the other hand, had 30 kills, two blocks and no service aces. Xinmin’s attacking prowess was evident particularly in the second and third set as Yishun Town were forced into making a combined total of 20 defensive errors.

From the start, it was Yishun Town who were in control as they dictated play. Despite the close scoreline, Xinmin could not settle in and gave away many points through errors in their play. Yishun Town capitalised on this and pulled ahead after a tie at 11-11, and eventually held a five-point advantage to lead 18-13.

Xinmin managed to narrow the scoreline but were still unable to level the score. Yishun Town were soon at set point after a spike by Kevin (Xinmin #3) went into the net. Yishun Town then sealed the set 25-20 after a quick ball by Timothy (Xinmin #13) went out of bounds.

Xinmin had another slow start in the second set but were able to quickly find their footing. As Xinmin’s confidence grew, they started pounding Yishun Town and forcing their opponents to commit errors. Soon, Xinmin were leading 18-13, prompting a time out from Yishun Town.

Consecutive errors by Yishun Town upon the restart did not help in their cause as they had to contend with Xinmin pulling further ahead to lead 23-15. Xinmin were soon at set point after tap by Kevin (Xinmin #3) from the backcourt was unreturned. Xinmin were however unable to wrap up the set after Glen (Xinmin #8) sent his serve out of bounds.

Xinmin eventually sealed the set after Hongxiang’s (Xinmin #2) spike deflected off the Yishun Town block to go out of bounds.

Xinmin kept up their momentum and took control of the third set. They gradually increased their lead and were soon holding a five-point lead at 19-14. An Yishun Town timeout at this juncture could not disrupt Xinmin’s scoring streak and they pulled further ahead upon the restart.

Despite Yishun Town being able to break Xinmin’s momentum late into the final set, it was not enough for them to stage a comeback and they had to contend with Xinmin taking the set 25-21.

Final score
Xinmin 2 Yishun Town 1
20-25, 25-18, 25-21

Who are the best 2012 B Division volleyball players?

Xinmin vs Yishun Town - Match Statistics

Group standings (correct as of February 3) [Teams who win by a scoreline of 2-0 are awarded 3 points. Those who win 2-1 are awarded 2 points while their opponents are awarded 1 point]

For more photos, go to the next page.