Shuqun Secondary in shock defeat to Dunman Secondary in U-16 volleyball

Story by Lai Jun Wei. Photos by REDintern Rachel Lim and Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports.

Hougang Sports Hall, Thursday, October 30, 2008 – Shuqun Secondary suffered a shock 0-2 (28-30, 22-25) defeat to Dunman Secondary (Discoverers) in a closely fought Group B Match at the 2008 National Under-16 Boys Junior Volleyball Championships.

Featuring national player Lawrence Tan, Shuqun were not expected to have such a hard time playing Dunman Secondary especially since they were last year’s Under-16 runners-up and this year’s B Division Championship runners-up. However, things proved not to be so as Dunman wrestled the win from Shuqun.

Shuqun gave the first point to Dunman after their opening serve found the net. Miscommunication between the players gave Dunman the second point when a set to the outside found no takers.

After some warming up, Shuqun matched Dunman point for point until the 13-point mark when they started to pull ahead with Lawrence Tan (Shuqun, #4) forcing through many shots from the outside.

Just as Shuqun pulled ahead to a 16-13 lead, Dunman quickly called for a timeout. Upon resumption of the game, Shuqun made a service error after their #1, Brandy Seah’s jump floater went out of bounds. However, Lawrence (Shuqun, #4) quickly took back the service with a deep spike into the right corner.

Trailing 16-21, Dunman called for a time out again probably to address their weak defence which was not able to cope with many deep shots.

At the 18-21 mark, the Dunman #6 fired a spike from the outside into the Shuqun block. However, the ‘roof’ formed by the Shuqun blockers forced the ball back into the Shuqun side. But Shuqun returned the next shot with a spike through the block and down the line to earn another point.

Brandy Seah (Shuqun, #1) then spiked a ‘cut-shot’ from the outside diagonally across to the 3m zone to ensure his team lead 23-22. A miscommunication in the Dunman team gave Shunqun another point to lead 24-22.

Shuqun looked set to wrap up the set but an attack by Dunman held off the win. A spectacular save was made by Lawrence but the Dunman #1 simply blocked the loose ball to bring Dunman closer by a point at 23-24.

The set then went into a deuce after Shuqun lost the subsequent ball and Dunman caught up at 26-26. Cheers from the supporters of both teams erupted every time their team scored a point, making this set a highly intense one.

Once again, Lawrence (Shuqun, #4) made a strong attack and the ball deflected off the Dunman players and went out of play for Shuqun to lead 27-26.

However, a fault at the net allowed Dunman to equalise at 27-27. Dunman then fired a ball into the Shuqun court which was badly received. For the first time in the game, Dunman now had the upper hand at 28-27.

Shuqun retaliated with a spike from the back court to level again at 28-28. The Dunman #6 then proved to be formidable when he aced a spike into the centre back area where there were no defending Shuqun players to haul Dunman back into the lead at 29-28.

Everyone watched with bated breath as the Dunman #6 went up again for the next spike. His shot from the outside went cross court towards Lawrence (Shuqun, #4). However, Lawrence stumbled and could not retrieve the ball. Cheers erupted as the first set ended 30-28 in Dunman’s favour.

The second set marked the start of a determined Shuqun fight back. Lawrence (Shuqun, #4) opened the set with an ace spike from the outside and down the line.

Shuqun then opened up an 8-2 lead with their relentless pounding. With Lawrence serving and Brandy spiking, it seemed to be a good combination as the strong serves prevented Dunman from organising an effective attack. Brandy’s spike was also considerably lethal, earning many points.

Shuqun were finding their form while Dunman started to lose steam. Dunman’s defence also seemed to weakened, often leaving pockets of space for Shuqun to exploit.

But Dunman were resilient. As Shuqun made attack after attack, Dunman held them and gradually caught up with Shuqun to tie it at 17-17.

A net touch by the Shuqun setter gave Dunman the lead, and the next point saw Brandy (Shuqun, #1) spiking the ball out of bounds to give Dunman a 19-17 lead.

Brandy Seah however made no mistake in the next shot, hitting a swipe-out on the Dunman blockers. Shuqun tied at 19-19 when Dunman #6’s spike deflected off the Shuqun block and back onto his side.

However, a failed spike by Shuqun saw Dunman inch closer to the win. Lawrence (Shuqun, #4), while made another back court attack, committed a foul when he stepped over the 3m line before hitting the ball to give Dunman an unearned point to lead 20-19.

The tension must have gotten to Shuqun as their #10, Teo Aik Peng received a shot from the Dunman #9 badly to give Dunman another point to extend their lead to 21-19. A tight rally with Dunman leading 22-19 ended up with Eng Sin Loong (Shuqun, #8) scoring with a well placed spike to the right boundary of the court to reduce the gap to two points at 20-22. But Dunman quickly restored a three-point lead with a strong spike to make it 23-20.

Shuqun’s next attack saw a strong spike weaken after the ball deflected off the hand of the Dunman #6. The Dunman team promptly organised a spike by their #1 to hit it down the line and bring the game to match point at 24-21.

The task of finishing the game fell on the shoulders of Dunman #6 as he made the last serve of the game. However, Lawrence denied Dunman the win when he spiked a ball which was deflected out of bounds by a Dunman player to close the gap to two at 22-24. Shuqun now needed four more points to bring the game into a rubber.

Dunman received the serve from Shuqun and Brandy (Shunqun, #1) was again called upon to finish off the game. His spike found its way into the Shuqun block. The Shuqun block was not tight enough and the ball went through, deflecting off the blockers’ hands and into Shuqun’s 3m zone to yield the second set to Dunman 22-25. Final score: 2-0 (30-28, 25-22).

Dunman managed to overcome the odds and triumph. With consistency and a steady game, they proved that they need not be superior in skill to win. Though weaker at certain times, they persevered and caught up, eventually overtaking Shuqun for the win.

Luck was probably not on Shuqun’s side as they squandered away their second set lead. But this being their first loss, Shuqun might just stand a chance to progress into the next round provided they win all their remaining matches. They still need to play Bukit Panjang Govt High (White) and Chong Boon Secondary (Team 2). Good luck!

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!