Written by: Gladys Loo Edited by: Leung Lok Heng & Choa Zhao Xiang Photos by: EusoffWorks
Determined to make it into the semifinals, the female volleyball team went up against Temasek Hall on 3 February with strong fighting spirits and a ready-to-win attitude. It was definitely an extremely close fight, but the girls made all of us proud by playing their best through the nerve-wrecking match.
With captain Aileen, IVP players Yao Yi and Jolene (the libero!), Yen Yi, freshies Zoey and Yunxi stepping on court, the match was about to begin. The first set did not start in favour of Eusoff, as the team found themselves lagging behind by 1-2 points. Yunxi and Yen Yi dived for a ball together at one point, but the good placement by the opponents rendered them unable to save it in time. At a score of 5-6, Kai Qi impressively pulled off the very first service ace of the match, bringing the score to a tie of 6-6. Both teams rallied back and forth for most of the game, but the girls still found themselves losing by a margin of 4 points. Nevertheless, they fought on hard, tying with TH again at 12-12. The TH players ultimately widened the score margin to 16-24, making it extremely tough for our players to catch up. Temasek won the first set with a score of 25-18, but the team did not lose faith! They looked like they were prepared to win the next two matches, putting the hearts of the supporters at ease.
EH 0:1 TH
Freshie Series Superstar Yunxi (check out pictures of her on @eusoffsmc on IG) kick-started the second set with THREE service aces, helping to widen the score gap to 6-1. The rallies were even longer and more intense than those in the first set, but our team did not blink an eye and kept up with the rallies, winning points all the way till 9-2. They had no room for error, and they put up great defence! At one point, Kai Qi impressively returned a drop from TH with a sicker drop from herself, bringing the score to 11-4. A series of errors made by TH maintained the wide score margin, but their tall spiker started attacking more aggressively in the second half of the game. TH unfortunately could not catch up and Eusoff won the second set with a score of 25-12.
Strong spikes from Freshie Superstar Yao Yi tied the match at 1-1.
EH 1:1 TH
At this point in time, the crowd was roaring for our volleyball girls for their steady forms in the second set even after starting the match with a loss. All fingers were crossed as the girls took their places on court, all ready for the deciding set. TH failed to defend the first few balls from Eusoff, placing us in the lead with a score of 3-0. Alas, TH became in the lead as they went on offensive, overpowering our team with a few power shots, leading with a score of 10-8. Yen Yi nonetheless attacked at every opportunity she could and allowed Eusoff to tie with TH at 11-11 with her spike! TH subsequently made error after error, and allowed our team to successfully go on offense, with Yao Yi spiking into empty spaces of the opponent’s court. The score became 16-13 with a service ace from Yao Yi and an amazing save from Zoey coupled with a drop from Kai Qi. The team found themselves ON A ROLL as they consecutively won points, bringing the score to 20-14. Our girls finished STRONG as they flawlessly attacked while defending, winning the rubber set with a final score of 25-18.
Final score: EH 2:1 TH
It is undeniably commendable of the team to have not cracked under the stress and maintained great teamwork while they made their way to victory! Clara Tay, one of the supporters, was quoted saying, “I am so inspired by them, volleyball is such a cool sport and I kind of want to try it next year!” The girls swept all of us off of our feet with their unbelievable saves and stamina as they rallied with the formidable opponent that is TH. Good job players! Here’s to even better plays in the semis and finals!
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