The senior girls volleyball team entered the ACAMIS tournament hungry for another shot at the ACAMIS crown in Hong Kong. With an impressive cast of veteran returning players, the girls ran a clean record through the first two days of the tournament with 2-0 victories over ISNS, BSB, HIS, and DAIS.
The final day of the tournament approached with much nervousness and excitement with 3 important matches. The first match was against the host school and defending champions, HKA with the top seed in the playoffs on the line. After a shaky start, the Tigers played a well balanced match, with organized defence and opportunistic offence, silencing the home crowd with a first set victory. The first set victory was a big momentum swing for both teams, with the Tigers breathing new confidence at having finally taking a set from HKA after dropping 2 straight set matches against the HKA Dragonflies at last year’s ACAMIS tournament. The loss seem to stun HKA a bit, as they were on their heels for most of the second set, never really threatening to extend the match into a third set. The Tigers roared to another 2-0 victory, and in the process, took the first seed into the playoffs.
The Tigers squared off against BSB in the semifinals. Despite superior skills and tactics, BSB played aggressively which forced the Tigers to have to play catch up for much of the first set. Rallying behind strong serving and defense, the Tigers came from behind to take the first set, before cruising through a comfortable 2nd set victory. The victory set the Tigers up for a rematch of the ACAMIS finals, squaring off once more against HKA .
In a see-saw affair, HKA and TIS were locked in an intense match, with both teams making some incredible plays to stop major point streaks the other team would try to mount. On the virtue of strong serving at the end of the set, HKA build a small lead that carried them to a 22-25 first set victory. With veteran leadership and a wealth of championship experience, the Tigers refused to go down, making a statement by building a 14 point lead late into the 2nd set, eventually closing the set 25-11. This set up a winner take all 3rd set. The start of the deciding set proved tough for the Tigers, as it took a while to get their first side-out. The girls eventually found their game but could only trade points, dropping the 3rd set and match by a score of 22-25, 25-11, 9-15.
Despite the disappointment at losing out on their first ACAMIS championship, there was still much to celebrate for the girls. Team captain and power hitter, Coco Chiang and setter Dalia De Pina were selected to the tournament All-Start team, and the team was rewarded with a well-earned 2nd place trophy.
Losing is never easy for an athlete but the girls found solace and comfort behind the realization of how far they have grown together as athletes, as people, and as a family. In the aftermath, there was heartache, but that heartache was quickly replaced by the celebration of a journey that extends back not just to the back of start of this year but in fact, the start of the volleyball program at TIS 5 years ago.
This year marks a major milestone for TIS girls volleyball. It has been five seasons since the start of the volleyball program at TIS and this year will mark the first year we have graduating players that have been with the volleyball team since the beginning. I’ve had the privilege of coaching most of these amazing young women through both their junior and senior seasons and I count it as a blessing to have seen them develop as athletes but also more importantly as people over the years. It is with a heavy heart that I bid farewell to the grade 12s: Coco Chiang, Julie Lee, Lynn Lee, Sophie Wu, Jessica Ma, and Kristen Muirhead. They’ve been instrumental in building a well-decorated first chapter of TIS girls volleyball. The team will regroup and come back next year stronger than ever, but not before celebrating another terrific season and acknowledging the wonderful teammates that have made the 5 year journey so magical.
