Xinmin come from behind to beat St. Hilda’s in B Division girls volleyball

By Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports

Presbyterian High School, Tuesday, March 23, 2010 - Xinmin Secondary came back from one set down to overcome St. Hilda's Secondary 2-1 (18-25, 27-25, 25-21) in a Group X quarter-final match at the National B Division Girls Volleyball Championship.

St Hilda's started off the set with a back-court spike from Amanda (St Hilda’s #16) which saw Xinmin deflecting it out. St Hilda's took the next point as well when Xinmin were unable to organize a return. The Xinmin libero, Sherhui had a bad receive from Stella’s (St Hilda's #7) serve, and St Hilda's now had a 3-0 lead. A subsequent good serve from Stella (St Hilda's #7) added another point to their tally.

Xinmin on the other hand started off shaky. With Wang Qihui (Xinmin #6) missing from the line up, Xinmin were having trouble organizing a credible attack. St Hilda's were on a high, and blitzed to a 19-9 lead.

Xinmin simply had no answer to St Hilda's attacks. St Hilda's were playing at a very fast tempo, and Xinmin's inability to get their engines started added to their woes as St Hilda's chalked up point after point. Xinmin's receiving seemed shaky, and St Hilda's exploited this weakness, deflecting several balls to their credit.

However, as the Xinmin #18 came back to the front row, she put up a fight for Xinmin, scoring several points to make it 22-14. Xinmin continued to catch up, and narrowed the gap to 23-17 when Felicia (Xinmin #12) sent a strong spike from the outside.

Alas, St Hilda's reached set point when Felicia (Xinmin #12) spiked into the net. However, Rachael (Xinmin #1) successfully blocked a drop shot by St Hilda's to deny the latter a quick win. Stella (St Hilda's #7) took the last point of the set with a spike from the outside, which Xinmin deflected out.

With adrenaline flowing, St Hilda's took down the first three points of the second set as well. Xinmin also began to find their form, putting up a substantial defence to St Hilda's. Determined not to let St Hilda's command an early lead, they managed to see the game level at 8-8 after St Hilda's setter, Dai Yi (#5) was unable to send the ball back.

It was a close match from then on. St Hilda's would pull ahead, only to have Xinmin catching right up. With the score tied at 20-20, everyone was on the edge of their seats to see if the North Zone champions would be edged out by the East Zone champions. It was a tit-for-tat moment as the teams leveled at every point. At the 23-23 mark, Xinmin called for a timeout.

Upon resumption, Samantha (St Hilda's #1) fired off a serve which the Xinmin libero could not get. With St Hilda's at match point, all they needed was one more point to seal the game. Samantha (St Hilda's #1) chose to serve a light ball, only to see it find the net, bringing the game into a deuce.

Felicia (Xinmin #12) committed a net touch at the next rally for St Hilda's to gain an advantage, but Rachael (Xinmin #1) spiked into an empty spot to deuce the game at 25-25. Jacqueline (Xinmin #7) was up next to serve, and her ball went flying right into the corner for the team to take an advantage. Her next serve went to the back, and St Hilda's was sure it was out of bounds. However, after much deliberation, the referee decided it was good and awarded the point, and the set to Xinmin.

Stella (St Hilda's #7) took the first point for the team with a light spike. St Hilda's seemed a little shaken having seen Xinmin steal the second set, but were going all out to take the third set. Their initial lead was erased when Xinmin drew level at 8-8.

St Hilda's kept the score close, and trailed Xinmin by one point at 13-12 at the changeover. Xinmin certainly did not want to allow St Hilda's to steal their lead, and went all out to increase the gap. With their determination, they pulled forward to lead 20-15.

St Hilda's were not going to be put down by the gap, and fought hard to catch up. With Xinmin at the 23-17 mark, St Hilda's prevented Xinmin from reaching set point as they took the subsequent two points, leading to Xinmin calling a time out.

However, a quick ball by Samantha (St Hilda's #1) saw St Hilda's come within three points of Xinmin at 23-20. Jaime (Xinmin #18) spiked a ball out from the opposite corner to narrow the gap further. However, she made up for the mistake by bringing the team to set point with a spike down the centre. Jaime (Xinmin #18) broke the hearts of St Hilda's as she sent her spike from the back court straight to Zhiting (St Hilda's #8), who deflected it out of bounds.

Xinmin and St Hilda's are drawn in Group X alongside Cedar Girls and Presbyterian High. Xinmin will play Cedar Girls' on Thursday, March 25 at 2.40pm. St Hilda's will then face Presbyterian High at 3.30pm. Both matches will be played at CCAB.

The B and C Division Girls matches will be played at both Presbyterian High and CCAB.

Final Score
Xinmin 2 St Hilda's 1
(25-17, 23-25, 25-19)

More photos in the gallery.

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

Related Post:
Want to vote for YOUR best volleyball player? Click here!
Which schools will make the top four in the 2010 C Division Volleyball Championships?
Which schools will make the top four in the 2010 B Division Volleyball Championships?

Go to the SCHOOLS FIXTURES & RESULTS page for more information.