Story and photos by Low Zheng Yu/Red Sports
Kelly Tan (DHS #2) with the kill as she taps the ball over. (Photo 1 © Low Zheng Yu/Red Sports)
PESEB, Tuesday, May 2, 2017 — Dunman High School (DHS) defeated Anderson Junior College (AJC) 3-0 to advance to the final in the National A Division Volleyball Championship.
With this win, DHS make their first ever final appearance in the school’s history. They will be challenging the two-time defending champions Nanyang Junior College who are looking to three-peat.
On the other hand, AJC will be up against Hwa Chong Institution to vie for third.
DHS got off to a strong start. They played well defensively to cover the spikes from AJC. Grace Cheong (DHS #5) played a pivotal role with her blocking as she got several kills from her blocks to give DHS the lead. Kelly Tan (DHS #2) of DHS also made several strong spikes to score points.
AJC on the other hand were able to receive and keep the ball in play well. They did not let the strong spikes of DHS intimidate them but played on calmly to receive those balls. Despite that, DHS were able to find loopholes in AJC’s defense to take the first two sets by huge margins.
In the third set, AJC came in to play with grit. They got off to a strong start to lead throughout the set. Their team play kept the ball alive several times before they got the kill after capitalizing on the loophole in the DHS defense.
Just when it seemed like AJC will take the set to get a fighting chance at the game, DHS clawed their way back. They composed themselves after their time-outs and started to make plays to get the kills they wanted. DHS played good defense to hold AJC at match-point while they scored to cut the AJC lead.
Sherlyn Teo (DHS #9) made a crucial soft spike to the loophole of the AJC defense to get the deuce. This caused AJC to panic and they started to rush their plays. AJC’s offense became predictable and Rachel Ng (DHS #7) managed to predict with accuracy the direction of the spike to get a kill off the block. This gave DHS the advantage. On the ensuing play, AJC allowed the DHS advantage to get to them. A rushed spike by AJC led to the ball going into the net which hit the ground thereafter.
With that, DHS completed the comeback in the third set to take down AJC 3-0 and advance to the final for the first time in the school’s history.
DHS captain, Kelly Tan (DHS #2), commented, “I think (in the third set) even though we weren’t leading all the way, our determination and fighting spirit were very strong. The encouragement for each other really pulled us together and helped us. All of us didn’t give up and we fought all the way for every point.”
Ecstatic, Kelly Tan (DHS #2) added, “Good job, just good job. All our hard work this past six years finally paid off.”
Scoring by Set
DHS vs AJC
1st Set: 25-15
2nd Set: 25-14
3rd Set: 26-24
DHS Roster
Kelly Tan (#2), Chan Ke Qing (#3), Lee Yen Theng (#4), Grace Cheong (#5), Teresa Wong (#6), Rachel Ng (#7), Esther Tan (#8), Sherlyn Teo (#9), Li Si Yi (#10), Shermin Teo (#11), Clarissa Felice Nurawan (#15), Chan Shin Ning (#16), Amelia Tan (#17), Decem Teo (#18)
AJC Roster
Soh Jia En (#1), Neo Wen Hui (#4), Sheila Lim (#5), Lim Yu Ping (#6), Perlyn Quek (#7), Vanessa Tay (#8), Vellda Lee (#9), Sng Li Lyn (#10), Ellie Tan (#11), Tan Khai Teng (#12), Felicia Tan Sher Ning (#16), Nicole Liaw (#17), Jamie Lim (#18), Winnie Pang (#19)
More photos next page
Leave A Comment