Dig. Set. Spike. Victory.

On September 6th, 2017, the varsity volleyball team played their second game of the season as they visited the International School of Dongguan (ISD) for a friendly match. After an hour of warming up, their opponents arrived and the match went underway.

Entering the first set, the boys had an impressive start as they dominated the plays. However, after a while, ISD started to catch up with series of strikingly impressive serves. Timeouts were called by both coaches as both teams rearranged their formation and rotations. Despite the hard effort by ISD, the boys were able to secure their initially held lead as they won the first set.

The beginning of the second set did not seem much different as the first one until halfway of the set. While our boys were struggling, ISD earned consecutive points and at one point, they were in the lead. The boys did not fall in despair and instead fought equally hard as their opponent did, making a unbelievable comeback from the deficit. Their tenacity remained interminable as it continued and helped them win the second set as well.

The third set was also competitively fought but the boys managed to win the set with great spirit and passion for the game. The boys won 3-0 and their win streak increased to two. Eagle Cheng, the boys’ team’s starting setter, was mostly satisfied with the team’s effort as he “witnessed great improvement in team chemistry and overall skills such as receiving and serving,” which played a significant role in the team’s victory. However, he is cognizant of the team’s shortcomings in the defensive aspect of the game. Cheng added, “As our team is mostly an offensive team, our defensive skills are not top-notch.” Andy Jeong, the team’s starting libero strongly believes that “[the team] can show [their] improved performance in the upcoming games”.

From September 15-17, the boys’ and girls’ volleyball team will be at the Shanghai American School of Pudong for the Tri-Cities tournament, which will consist of four international schools: Western Academy of Beijing (WAB), Shanghai American School of Pudong (SASPD), Shanghai American School of Puxi (SASPX) and American International School of Guangzhou (AISG). The Tri-Cities Tournament is going to be a mid-season check of the team’s current position in the league before entering APAC in October.