By Zachary Foo/Red Sports

Clive Ling (CHS #13) goes up to spike the ball. (Photo 1 © Zachary Foo/Red Sports)

Presbyterian High School, Tuesday, July 29, 2014 — Catholic High School shook off their loss in the zonal final with a 2–0 (25–17, 25–18) win over Hwa Chong Institution (HCI) in the first round of the National C Division Boys Volleyball Championship.

Catholic High asserted their strength in the first set, taking a 6–3 lead. Clive Ling (CHS #13) and Clement Wong (CHS #11) were both strong at the net, hitting spikes that HCI had trouble returning. HCI slowly figured out their strategy, adjusting their blockers to repel some of the Catholic High attacks. Despite this, Catholic High were able to take a 14–9 lead.

HCI were plagued by occasional mistakes on their return game, and this allowed to Catholic High to take advantage with their strong service game. Catholic High eventually consolidated their lead to win the first set 25–17.

Catholic High took the lead again in the second set. However, HCI did well to pull back to 6–7. Joel Oh (CHS #2) served up two aces, part of a 7–0 run by Catholic High to put them up by eight points.

HCI responded with a 3–0 run of their own, backed by good play by their blockers at the net. Again, HCI’s return game left more to be desired, as their mistakes gifted a lot of free points to Catholic High.

Nigel Wee (CHS #5) did a good job as the setter for his team in the quarter, serving up a lot of easy spikes for Clive Ling (CHS #13) and Clement Wong (#11). With Catholic High up 24–15, HCI showed grit to save three straight match points. Unfortunately, that was as fair as they got, as Catholic took the set 25–18.

Catholic High will next face Punggol Secondary on Monday, August 4 at Presbyterian High Court 1 at 12pm.

Scoring by Set
Catholic High vs Hwa Chong Institution
First set: 25–17 (1–0)
Second set: 25–18 (2–0)

Catholic High Roster
Wang Liang Bing (#1), Joel Oh Kai Shun Hiroyuki (#2), Deng Jiayao (#3), Leong Yew Kit (#4), Wee Song Ming Nigel (#5), Sean Tay Swee Sheng (#6), Dai Xinlong (#7), Lee Ying Long Xavier (#8), Lee Zi Bin (#9), Hoi Cheng Yen Daryl (#10), Clement Wong Jing Liang (#11), Ho Juay Xuan (#12), Ling Chieh Shyan Clive (#13), Manfred Fong Yong Jie (#14)

Hwa Chong Institution Roster
We were unable to obtain the roster from Hwa Chong Institution. If you recognise any of the players, please list them in the comments below. Thank you!

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