Story and photos by Low Zheng Yu/Red Sports
NYJC celebrates their third championship in a row. (Photo 1 © Low Zheng Yu/Red Sports)
Woodlands Sports Hall, Tuesday, May 9, 2017 — Nanyang Junior College (NYJC) successfully defended their title against Dunman High School (DHS), taking the final 3-0 in the National A Division Volleyball Championship.
NYJC, two-time defending champions, had defeated Hwa Chong Institution previously in the semi-finals.
DHS had defeated AJC previously to advance to their first final experience and walked away with the school’s first A Division silver medal.
NYJC scored the first point of the game after making a soft spike into a loophole in the DHS defense. However, DHS were ready to fight back. On the ensuing play, they played well defensively to get the block-out.
Unfazed, NYJC continued on calmly. They scored five straight kills to give them a five-point lead but DHS stuck around by capitalising on NYJC mistakes and attacking the open spots. DHS tied things up at 13 with defense leading to offense as they scored off their blocks.
DHS got their first lead of the set after Teresa Wong (DHS #6) made two service aces. Despite that, NYJC showed their composure as defending champions by scoring quickly to get the tie.
While both sides refused to give up, it was NYJC who drove down powerful spike after spike to wear down the DHS players and pull ahead. With yet another powerful spike into the DHS defense which led to a block-out, NYJC took the first set 25-18.
NYJC got off to a good start in the second set with a service ace by Eunice How (NYJC #9). NYJC continued their stellar performance to score but Kelly Tan (DHS #2) landed a hard spike for the kill to show that DHS were here to play and win. DHS were able to catch the NYJC mistakes to keep the game close.
However, NYJC were able to correct their mistakes along the way to eliminate errors. They capitalises on their offensive opportunities as Eunice How (NYJC #9) and Ashley Han (NYJC #12) took turns to deliver hard spikes for the kills. NYJC were also able to set up good plays to get the DHS defense into disarray and make more kills to quickly take a six-point lead.
Eunice How (NYJC #9) led the charge for NYJC as she drove down several spike kills to eventually take the second set 25-14.
DHS got off to a good start in the third set. Sherlyn Teo (DHS #9) made a service ace to get the first point for DHS. However, NYJC answered and tied things up at 4-4. DHS retaliated with a strong spike which led to the block-out to get back the lead.
NYJC showed their composure as the defending champions as they calmly received the spikes from DHS to set up plays for Ashley Han (NYJC #12). Ashley Han (NYJC #12) answered with strong spikes into the DHS defense which slowly took a toll on the DHS players. Her spike-kills demoralised the DHS players and caused them to panic which led to several costly mistakes. These mistakes allowed NYJC to pull away.
While DHS showed grit and fighting spirit, the lead by NYJC was too huge as they eventually took the last set 25-15 to secure a three-peat in the Championship.
Captain of NYJC, Ho Sue Li (NYJC #8), commented, “I think DHS analysed us very well. As our defense is normally on the front line, they noticed that and kept spiking to the back. So that was why we could not get our first few points as we were not used to it. However, we managed to adjust and got used to it.”
“I’m just very happy now that we managed to defend our title. I’m happy we came so far to win the championship. This last match I feel was our best match.”
DHS captain, Kelly Tan (DHS #2), said, “We faced a lot of ups and downs in this journey but I am glad we pulled it through together. Even though we met a very strong school in the final, that didn’t affect our mentality and we gave it our all to fight for every point. The outcome of this game was not the most important but what mattered most is that we got to experience this together.”
“It feels good to bring home the first silver for DHS and I hope we can inspire our juniors to work hard and bring more glory to the school.”
Scoring by Set
NYJC vs DHS
1st Set: 25-18
2nd Set: 25-14
3rd Set: 25-15
NYJC Roster
Charmaine Chew Wen Yin (#1), Chua Jin Ying (#3), Lim Wan Teng, Valerie (#5), Li Jia Shun (#6), Isabel Lim Ai Shan (#7), Ho Sue Li (#8), How Lai Kit, Eunice (#9), Toh Ze Qi (#10), Charmaine Koh Yee Ning (#11), Ashley Han Pei Fang (#12), Boh Ze Xuan (#13)
DHS Roster
Tan Yi Lin Kelly (#2), Chan Ke Qing (#3), Lee Yen Theng (#4), Grace Cheong (#5), Teresa Wong Chi Yee (#6), Rachel Ng Min Yee (#7), Tan Pei Shan Esther (#8), Teo Xu Lin Sherlyn (#9), Li Si Yi (#10), Teo Xu Ning Shermin (#11), Clarissa Felice Nurawan (#15), Chan Shin Ning (#16), Amelia Tan Jin Yu (#17), Decem Teo (#18)
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