B Div Vball (Girls): Ngee Ann hold off Presbyterian High in Group Y match

Presbyterian High, Thursday, March 22, 2012 — Ngee Ann Secondary held off a challenge by Presbyterian High to win 2-1 (25-23, 22-25, 29-27) in a Round Two, Group Y match of the National B Division Girls’ Volleyball Championship.

Presbyterian High, whose form had ebbed and flowed throughout the season, hit another rough patch as they scored a significantly lower number of kills compared to their previous performance. They scored 35 points from 28 kills, six blocks and one service ace. Ngee Ann on the other hand scored 40 points from 34 kills, three blocks and three service aces. Both teams had a similar number of hit errors but Presbyterian High had almost three times the number of defensive errors as opposed to Ngee Ann.

Ngee Ann were giving Presbyterian High a tough fight from the beginning as the teams were neck and neck. The lead changed hand several times and the teams found themselves tied at the 13, 19, 20 and 22-point marks.

A spiking error by Presbyterian High allowed Ngee Ann to lead 23-22 and the latter took set point after Wen Xin (Ngee Ann #13) spiked a loose ball back into Presbyterian High’s court. Presbyterian High came to within one point of Ngee Ann again after Mei Hui (Ngee Ann #1) spiked out of bounds.

However, Wen Xin (Ngee Ann #13) sealed the set as she sent her spike to the line for Ngee Ann to win 25-23).

It was another close fight in the second set with Ngee Ann leading 14-9. Presbyterian High made changes to their lineup in their bid to change the team dynamics.

They kept close to Ngee Ann and eventually tied the score 116-16 after Amanda (Presbyterian High #11) forced a touch out from the Ngee Ann block. Presbyterian High then took the lead after Mei Hui (Ngee Ann #1) sent her spike into the net. Presbyterian High continued their momentum and were leading 19-16 when Ngee Ann called a timeout.

Ngee Ann quickly staged a comeback and drew level with Presbyterian High at the 22-22 mark after a drop shot by Mei Hui.

A timeout by Presbyterian High at this point broke Ngee Ann’s momentum as the latter sent their serve out of bounds to trail once again. Two spiking errors by Ngee Ann in the subsequent rallies consequently gave the set to Presbyterian High.

Both teams continued to be tied neck and neck in the third set. At the changeover, Presbyterian High were holding on to a slim two-point lead but eventually saw it disappear as Ngee Ann drew level 15-15.

The teams edged ahead point for point and saw themselves deuced at the 24-24 mark. Amanda (Presbyterian High #11) took the advantage for the team but Wen Yi (Ngee Ann #11), who had just been substituted into the match, saved the match point with a well placed drop shot. A bad set from Presbyterian High meant that the team could not spike over and Ngee Ann were in the lead once again.

The teams continued to save consecutive match points until Ngee Ann were leading 28-27 after Presbyterian High were unable to organise a return. This time round, Presbyterian High spiked into the net to gift the last point to Ngee Ann.

With the win, Ngee Ann’s hopes of entering the semi-finals are revived as they now have three points under their belt. They next face Nanyang Girls’, who have already been eliminated from the competition, and a 2-0 win will put them in good stead to qualify.

Presbyterian face Dunman in their next match and a 2-0 win will definitely assure them a place in the semi-finals. If they were to win 2-1 while Ngee Ann beats Nanyang Girls’ 2-0, all three teams at the top will be tied with six points and the two teams with the better scoring coefficient will go through. A loss to Dunman on the other hand would almost certainly mean they surrender their semi-final berth to Ngee Ann especially if the latter wins their match against Nanyang.

Final Score
Ngee Ann 2 Presbyterian High 1
25-23, 22-25, 29-27

Current group standings
Dunman (2W, 0L) – 5 points
Presbyterian High (1W, 1L) – 4 points
Ngee Ann (1W, 1L) – 3 points
Nanyang (0W, 2L) – 0 points

Ngee Ann vs Presbyterian High - Match Statistics

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