Presbyterian High School, Tuesday, July 26, 2011 — Despite losing the first set, St Hilda’s Secondary rallied to edge out group opponent Catholic High School with a hard-fought 19-25, 25-23, 25-21 win in the first round of the National C Division Volleyball Championship.

The victory enabled the East Zone champions to qualify in first position in their group and maintain a remarkable unbeaten streak in the C Division.

St Hilda’s were stunned in the first set, however, as they made a few errors while struggling to string together a series of offensive plays against Catholic High.

Catholic High, on the other hand, bounced back strongly from their earlier loss to Punggol Secondary to lead the entire first set to win it 25-19. Their good form continued into the second set, which saw them take a 13-7 lead at one stage.

St Hilda’s Sec responded by clawing back to a 23-23 tie, though. A few mistakes by the Catholic High players saw St Hilda’s take a slim 25-23 win in the second set.

The third and deciding set was a tense affair which saw St Hilda’s Sec jump out to a 12-6 lead. Catholic High, though, displayed their fighting spirit by outplaying St Hilda’s for a subsequent 17-14 lead. A quick time-out at this point by the St Hilda’s coaching staff worked wonders with St Hilda’s then bouncing back for a 20-18 lead.

They did not look back as they closed out the game with a 25-21 win in the final set.

With the win, St Hilda’s and Punggol qualified for the second round while Catholic High and West Spring Secondary were eliminated at the first round of the national championship.

National C Division Volleyball Championship — full fixtures and results