Thursday, May 14, 2009

CCAB, Thursday, 14-5-09,3.00pm.







In what is billed as one of the most exciting clashes in A divison 2009, hwachong shone with their class, experience and spirit to beat AJC in straight sets 25-22, 25-12, 25-19. Faced with a gruelling schedule of 4 matches in a row, hwachong volleyball trudged on to snatch a crucial win which will send them to the finals, something which had eluded us for a grand total of 15 years. With confidence on an all time high after only one loss so far, hwachong volleyball showed everyone why they are considered as favourites to win the title this year as they met expectations in a dominant win over ajc. From the start of the showdown, hwachong never looked far from winning as they played with finesse whilst showing no apparent signs of fatigue.

All seven players turned in an exceptional performance. Commanding libero Wincoln was a colossus at the back, fighting for every stray ball and capped a fine display with an almost 100% record in receiving first ball. Skipper Samuel turned in an inspired performance, together with melvin, they impressed with their astute reading of the game and their impeccable spiking, receiving and blocking. Quickers galvin and lennis dominated aerially with the staggering height of their blocks and their hang time as they successfully broke up the attacks of ajc while Kian keong and zijie both put in commendable displays. With this win, Hwachong volleyball will be facing nyjc in the finals on monday.



Set one

For the first set, Kian keong started as the setter, Lennis and Galvin as our quickers, Samuel and melvin as our open, Zijie as our sub-setter and Wincoln our libero. Samuel drew first blood with a clever touch out off the desperate arms of the opposition blocker to make it 1-0 to us, this was followed by a fierce spike down right to make it 3-1 for us. As samuel was rotated to the backline, melvin made immediate impact as a spiker as he chalked up 3 consecutive points with his blocks and spikes. Making it 6-3 for hwachong. However, ajc showed great tenacity to claw back and take the lead at 8-6. This was shortlived as hwachong pegged back immediately with a galvin quick attack and a nice jump serve from melvin which the opposition could not handle. Gradually both sides found themselves locked in a tight battle as they traded spikes and serves. With the score at 11-11, both wincoln and samuel made amazing saves to make it a hard won hwachong point. With the score at 12-11, hwachong rode on the momentum to make it 18-14 with galvin and samuel shutting out the opposition attack with an outstanding blocking display. Zijie also contributed with a nice spike from the right, but not without some help from galvin who tricked two blockers into jumping. A series of errors by us enabled ajc to close in on us at 22-20, however samuel continued to make efforts to calm down the team. Those efforts paid off as hwachong reacted brilliantly in the form of a beautiful tandem by melvin and galvin to make it 24-20. Hwachong finally won the set 25-22 after an opponent error.



Set two

Once again it was skipper samuel who drew first blood with a good block and spike to make it 1-0 for hwachong. He then followed up on his irresistible form with several smashing spikes and a block making it 5-1 for us. However several mistakes on our own gifted points to the ajc side who found themselves within touching distance of us with the score at 8-5. Samuel then stopped the rot by firing in an ace serve that left the aj defence with no chance. With this point, hwachong then gathered momentum as we started to dictate the pace of the game with confidence and ease. Melvin turned on the style with his attacking flair, his touch outs and drop shots earned hwachong crucial points as they extended their lead. With the score at 12-7, a moment of brilliance saw melvin connecting with kian keong's set beautifully as he thundered the ball down after a tandem with lennis. A series of errors made by our opponents and some impeccable blocking by galvin made it 20-10 for us. Hwachong stepped up a gear to seal up the second set with a melvin touch out that made it 24-12 and finally a quick attack by lennis that completed the win.



Set 3

With a spot in the finals beckoning, hwachong needed no further encouragement to complete their rout. The attacking triumvirate of Samuel, Melvin and Galvin who had been brilliant throughout turned in a virtuoso performance once again in the third set. It was galvin this time who drew first blood as his powerful a ball to the right gave the opposition defence no chance. It was a close fight initially as both sides claim points off each other. With the score at 6-6, an opposition spike saw them took the lead at 7-6. This enabled them to extend their lead to 10-6 as we struggled to settle down. Skipper samuel was once again a motivational force as he drew upon his mental reserves to calm the entire team down. We began our resurgence with an exceptional block by lennis which took the score to 7-11. Melvin and galvin then unleashed good spikes respectively to enable us to claw back 11-11. Melvin continued our run by scoring from a touch out off the opposition blocker. Ajc started to panicked and crumbled with a series of errors on their own. Meanwhile we capitalised on that to extend our lead. A good serve by melvin and several blocks by samuel and galvin made it 19-14. With victory in sight, we upped the tempo of the game. A thumping jump serve by galvin made it 21-15. To their credit, ajc refused to give up and started to attack relentlessly, despite commendable efforts by melvin and wincoln, we conceded a precious 3 points following powerful serves by the opposition. With the score at 22-18, Samuel once again broke the service of the opposition with a good spike following a tandem with galvin. However a foul by us gifted them a point back. Lennis then wrapped up the set 25-19 with a quick attack.

Hwachong will be facing nyjc this coming monday in an attempt to win the elusive championship title. Please support us.

life can be a burden, but dun ever give up