Defending champs Cedar Girls’ edge five-set thriller with Dunman in C Division volleyball semi-final

By Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports

Presbyterian High School, Thursday, April 1, 2010 - Defending champions Cedar Girls' Secondary are one step closer to retaining their National C Division Volleyball Championship crown after edging out a resilient Dunman Secondary 3-2 (25-14, 18-25, 25-22, 23-25, 15-13) in a five-set thriller.

Cedar started off well, taking the first set with ease. However, Dunman clawed back to take the second set. The third and fourth sets were especially close, and it was particularly a tight rubber set. Cedar suffered a scare after Dunman initially came close to overtaking Cedar in the final few moments. However, Cedar held on for the win.

1st set
Cedar took the first point of the match after Faith Chan (Dunman #7) deflected Jasmine Tan's (Cedar #11) serve out of bounds. Quak Guting (Cedar #6) then took another point with a light spike. However, Jasmine (Cedar #11) subsequently served out for Dunman to take their first point.

Cedar was playing without a libero, and things seemed a little shaky as centre spiker Claire Teo (Cedar #9) was unable to receive a serve from Dunman. However, Cedar quickly overcame their jitters to blitz to a 14-4 lead, leading to a time out by Dunman.

However, Dunman were not able to organize a return on the restart, and Cedar continued to extend their lead. Dunman seemed a little demoralized knowing that they were playing the defending champions, allowing Cedar to run wild. Cedar soon saw themselves at the 23-14 mark after Faith (Dunman #7) saw her returning Melissa's (Cedar #17) serve into the net. A time out was not able to stop Cedar as Cedar took set point after the Dunman #6 executed a drop shot into the net. Claire (Cedar #9) sealed the set for the team after a spike off the Dunman block.

2nd set
Dunman found their confidence in the second set. After a rocky start by Cedar, Dunman saw themselves with a 5-1 lead. However, Cedar quickly caught up and leveled the score at 6-6 after the Dunman #14 could not spike across. Dunman managed to keep the score close, and even pulled to a 9-6 lead after several bad receives from Cedar. Suddenly, winning the match did not seem that impossible anymore.

Alas, Cedar caught up at the 10-10 mark, and the match continued with the scores neck and neck. However, Dunman were able to pull ahead and lead 21-17, leading to a time out by Cedar. However, Jasmine (Cedar #11) spiked into the net in the subsequent rally and Dunman were closer to take the set. Cedar setter Cherie Soon (#14) sent a free ball to the backline, catching Dunman off guard, to see Cedar narrow the score gap, but Celia Lim (Cedar #1) could not serve over for Dunman to take serve again.

Faith (Dunman #7) brought the team to set point after she sent a spike to the left back corner, just out of reach of Celia (Cedar #1). Dunman took the set after Jasmine (Cedar #11) jumped too early while going up for a spike, sending the ball into the net.

3rd set
Dunman were all pumped up after taking a set off Cedar. Cedar suddenly lost form and were having a terrible start at the third set. They gave away three consecutive points by themselves via unforced errors before losing another two to Dunman. It was only until Faith (Dunman #7) served out that Cedar got a breather. However, Guting (Cedar #6) sent a free-ball out of bounds for Dunman to take service again. Jasmine (Cedar #11) was then unable to receive a free ball, and Dunman how commanded a 7-2 lead.

Cedar had to play catchup for most of the set, but they were starting to narrow the score gap. They eventually managed to tie at the 17-17 mark after a long hard fight, and turned the tables on Dunman after they saw Dunman unable to serve over. However, Dunman were not going to let Cedar steal the game from them, and fought back to tie 21-21.

Dunman took back the lead after Faith's (Dunman #7) serve clipped the net, catching Guting (Cedar #6) off guard. However, Dunman's next spike found the net, seeing the score level once again. Guting (Cedar #6) then took the lead for Cedar after a light spike, leading to a time out by Dunman.

However, Cedar took set point after Guting (Cedar #6) forced a touch out from Celine Ng's (Dunman #9) block. Dunman quickly called for another time out, but it was to no avail, as the Dunman #6 spiked out for Cedar to take the set.

4th set
The fourth set was plagued with service errors from both sides. As fatigued start to creep in, both teams were keeping their play safe. After many rallies, albeit marred with unforced errors, both teams were tied at the 17-17 mark. Nothing much separated both teams, but Dunman managed to take a slender lead at 20-18. Though Cedar tried to close in, Dunman held them off. Dunman saw themselves at 23-19 after Cherie (Cedar #14) was unable to get to a set in time.

However, Guting (Cedar #6) narrowed the score gap when she spiked to the Dunman libero, seeing the latter deflect the ball out. Claire (Cedar #9) accidentally contacted the net while going for a spike, and Dunman were at set point. Cedar were able to hold off Dunman's win, and narrowed the score gap to just one point after Dunman deflected Jasmine's (Cedar #11) spike out of bounds. But it was not to be as Jasmine (Cedar #11) subsequently spiked out for Cedar to take the fourth set.

5th set
It was down to a nerve wracking rubber set. Jasmine (Cedar #11) gave Cedar a good start after a good serve. However, Dunman managed to block Cedar's attack to draw 1-1. The scores remained close, with both teams giving their fullest to take the set. At the changeover, Dunman trailed Cedar by merely one point.