Anglo-Chinese Junior College beat Jurong JC to clinch third place in A Division girls volleyball

By Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports

CCAB, Friday, May 15, 2009 – After their previous encounter in Round Two, Jurong Junior College were certainly looking for revenge after that loss to Anglo-Chinese JC. Edging out a spirited Anderson JC to progress into the semi-finals, they lost to Nanyang JC to set up this fight with Anglo-Chinese JC in the 3rd/4th placing match of the A Division Girls Volleyball Championship. However, it was a repeat of their last meet as ACJC beat JJC 3-0 (25-8, 25-16, 25-17) to emerge third in the championship.

ACJC strengthened their footing in the first set, dominating play. ACJC #8 took the first point of the match when she deflected a spike off Sophia (JJC, #7) into an empty spot. A few rallies saw JJC tie the score at 2-2, but a spike down the line from ACJC #2 saw ACJC take the lead. When a free ball was picked up by Sophia (JJC, #7), everyone would most probably expect her to spike it down for a point. But she unfortunately contacted the net to continue ACJC’s scoring streak.

By the time a time out was called by the JJC coach, ACJC had stormed to a 10-4 lead. JJC was having difficulty organising any substantial attacks while ACJC on the other hand were comfortably taking point after point. Sophia temporarily stopped ACJC’s scoring streak after the restart with a spike from the back court, but aCJC responded with a spike of their own to take back control of the game.

ACJC stormed off to a 19-8 lead, capitalising on JJC’s defensive errors. JJC still had difficulty settling into their paces and were unable to counter ACJC’s attacks. A bad receive from JJC soon saw the score at 20-8.

ACJC were soon at set point after a bad receive from a JJC player saw the ball being sent into the hand of a blocking Jean Lim (ACJC, #12), who stuffed off the ball decisively. ACJC #2 took home the set when her spike from the outside went down the line to an empty spot.

JJC were not going to let their first set thrashing affect them, as they were in high gear to take the second set. A net touch by Sophia (JJC, #7) saw the first point awarded to ACJC, but she made it for when her spike from the outside saw no one able to receive. They took a 4-1 lead over ACJC when Yiqian (JJC, #11) deflected her spike off the ACJC blocker into ACJC’s court. ACJC #8 spun her spike to the line on the next point to put a temporary stop to JJC’s scoring streak, but JJC quickly forced a touch out on the next rally to increase their lead.

But ACJC were not going to be left behind as they pushed hard to close the gap. They could have tied the game, but ACJC #8 served the ball out for JJC to keep a lead at 6-8. ACJC’s determination paid off as they soon tied the at 9-9, only to have JJC’s setter Jasmine (#9) retake the lead for her team with a well placed drop shot.

JJC soon saw their lead eroded when ACJC stole the lead from them. But JJC was hot on ACJC’s heels, keeping the score close. A time out at the 16-13 and 20-15 mark gave JJC some time to reorganise, but they could not stop ACJC from reaching set point at 24-15.

Huilin (JJC, #3) held off ACJC’s win when her spike clipped the net to roll into ACJC’s court, bringing the score to 24-16. But Jean (ACJC, #12) sealed the set for her team when she spiked from the centre to the right corner, where a waiting Yiqian (JJC, #11) unfortunately deflected the ball out of bounds.

JJC took the first point of the third set with a deflected spike out of bounds off ACJC #9. On the next rally, ACJC #8 spiked into Sophia’s (JJC, #7) block. But Sophia was unable to revive play when the ball fell into her court.

The score remained tight in the first few rallies, with the score at 6-4 after a spike from ACJC #8 to the right corner. ACJC continued their scoring streak with several strong serves, forcing JJC to call for a time out at 11-5. ACJC continued their rampage after the restart, serving two strong balls to further their lead to 13-5 until JJC managed to break the scoring streak with a good spike of their own.

However, ACJC took control of the serve back with a spike of their own, only for their #2 to serve into the net.

JJC managed to reduce the score difference, but could not prevent ACJC from reaching closer to game point. ACJC were at 20-14 after Huilin (JJC, #3) couldn’t rescue a blocked spike. Huilin had a hard time in the game, covering the blocker with dedication and diving for the deflected balls with all her will. However, the unpredictability of the shots often saw her sprawling on the floor with the ball out of reach.

But JJC continued to hold ACJC, chalking up several points and closing the score gap. JJC called for a time out in a last ditch effort after Huilin (JJC, #3) spiked down the line and out of bounds to bring the score to 23-17.

However, a bad receive from JJC saw ACJC at game point. The final point was taken when ACJC #8 spiked her ball into an empty spot from the centre to seal the win for ACJC.

Final score: 3-0 (25-8, 25-16, 25-17)

More pictures in the gallery.

Editor’s note: If you recognise yourself or your team mate in any of the photos, please feel free to leave the names behind in the comments section and we will update accordingly. Thanks!