Huayi Secondary make comeback to edge out Anderson in U-16 volleyball

Story and pictures by Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports.

Hougang Sports Hall, Thursday, October 30, 2008 – Huayi Secondary came back from one set down to defeat Anderson Secondary 2-0 (20-25, 25-14, 15-8) in a Group D Match at the National Under-16 Girls Junior Volleyball Championships 2008.

Anderson started the set strong, with Anderson #8 serving several balls which were not received by the Unity players. After establishing a three point lead over Huayi, a time out was called by the Huayi coach. Upon resumption of play, Anderson #8 promptly served the ball out of bounds, bringing the score to 4-6. Huayi started to crawl their way back through perseverance, trying to deny Anderson a chance to spike. Anderson fought back harder with stronger serves, aiming to snuff out any opportunities for Huayi to receive. Things seemed to be looking good for Anderson until Anderson #11 served a ball out of bounds. However, Huayi #13 returned the favour with a service fault.

Huayi seemed to have had their defence broken down as their defending appeared lacklustre. Anderson capitalised on this and brought many hard serves and strong spikes, particularly from Anderson #4, #7 and #11, down on the Huayi team. But while Anderson was strong in their spikes, they were sometimes too eager at serves, with many of their shots going out of bounds. However, they were still able to hold their lead over Huayi. The final point of the set was won when a Huayi player committed a net-touch, ending the set 20-25 in favour of Anderson.

The second set saw the great comeback from Huayi. Strong play saw them build up a lead at 16-9. However, they began to weaken at the end, with many spikes going into the net. The centre spiker was substituted out but the same situation still occurred. However, they pushed on and ended the set 25-14, much to the anger of the furious Anderson coach.

As the teams returned to the bench for the final pep-talk, the Anderson coach was seen angrily giving his players a good dressing down, especially setter Anderson #8. The Anderson players simply had no motivation after being lectured by the coach. Huayi quickly established a 4-2 lead over Anderson.

The disheartened Anderson players still pushed on, hoping for some chance to turn around. A failed spike from the Unity outside spiker brought the score to 4-4. However, the Huayi players continued their last minute rampage as the Anderson players struggled to find their form. Setter #8 seemed to have lost all hopes as her setting went all awry, failing to find her intended player several times. By then, Huayi was already at game point and Anderson still trailing behind at 4-14.

However, a spike by Anderson #11 deflected out of bounds off a Huayi player to deny Huayi the win. Anderson #6 then served a strong shot with resulted in a ‘free ball’ being sent back to Anderson. Anderson #18 spiked the ball down the line from where she was, the ball just clipping the boundaries of the court to remain ‘in’. With this small triumph, a small spark seemed to have ignited as they tried to push forth.

Anderson #6 continued her serve. The ball was received and set to Huayi #8 for the attack. However, she failed to tap the ball across, bringing the score to 7-14. The subsequent point also went to Anderson, which saw the Huayi coach call for a time out. Upon the resumption of the game, a rally saw the ball being set to Anderson #4 who jumped up for a back court attack. However, her shot fell short and found the net, bringing the score to 8-15 and giving Huayi the win.

Final score: 2-1 (20-25, 25-14, 15-8)

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