Hi Tigers Fan!
Today was a historic day in Tigers athletics. TIS has it’s first ever volleyball championship thanks to the junior girls volleyball team at SCISAC. On top of that, the boys picked a well-earned 3rd place trophy!
Boys
The boys won their final preliminary round game against HKA in a hotly contested 3 set match that went 18-25, 25-20, and 15-9 in the boys favour. The win propelled the team into a 1st vs. 2nd playoff game against XIS. After surging to a sizable lead in the first set, TIS was slowly
overwhelmed by XIS staunch defense
. The team dropped a straight sets match to XIS.
The boys still had an opportunity reach the finals by defeating IVY but fatigue took its toll and cost the boys that opportunity. IVY prevailed against TIS 2-0. The boys managed to snag the 3rd place trophy in the process though. Congratulations to the boys on overcoming so many obstacles and fighting for a 3rd place finish.
Girls
The girls started the day against HKA. The team handled the pace of the game entirely through the first set of the game . HKA stormed back in the 2nd set and really pushed the Tigers, but once again Alison Tang came to the rescue with a long serving streak to put the Tigers over the top for the set and match win.
The girls then found themselves in a 1st vs 2nd playoff match against XIS. The first set made it seem like the Tigers would roll easily through to the finals, as they quickly built a 8 point lead and stifled any comeback XIS was trying to attempt. However, in the second set, XIS reminded TIS why they were the 4 time defending champions of the SCISAC banner
. XIS charged to a big lead and traded points back and forth with TIS most of the way through the set. It was only at the end of the set did TIS regain their earlier match form and found themselves holding 2 chances to close out the match. XIS wouldn’t give in, saving both match points, producing 2 set points of their own. TIS showed equal resilience, denying both of XIS’s set points before finally ending the match 28-26. Coco Chiang once again led the offense with 10 kills on an out of this world, 91% attacking percentage. Setters Mika Ao and Lauren Baker chipped in with 6 assists each.
This win allowed TIS to proceed directly into the finals, where as fate would have it, they would have to beat the defending champions, XIS, one final time to topple their volleyball dynasty. Much like in the earlier playoff game, TIS dominated the first set, paced by unrelenting serving from all of the girls. The set ended 25-16, and the girls were one set away from history. However, no championship is claimed easily, and XIS battled strong in the 2nd set with their incredible run in jeopardy. XIS built up a modest led and held strong most of the set. TIS struggled to keep their composure, committing an uncharacteristic number of serving and attacking errors in the set. The raw talent of the TIS girls kept them in the set up until the very end, where XIS dealt the final blow winning the set 22-25
.
All of a sudden, for the first time during the entire duration of the tournament, TIS faced imminent danger. Another set loss, and all the earlier success would have all been for naught. XIS carried the momentum early in the 3rd set by nullifying the Tigers’ attack and serving, building up a 4-8 lead half way through the 3rd set. The Tigers knew they had their backs to the wall, and came up with a huge point to close the gap to 5-8, but more importantly, receive possession of the ball for serve. This side-out proved to ultimately be the turning point of the match. Lauren Baker went back to serve, delivering a 7 serve scoring run capped by 3 aces, putting the Tigers up 12-8 before XIS finally pulled back the serve on a very questionable lift infraction. The teams traded points, up to championship point with TIS holding a 14-10 lead. Still in the very end, XIS steeled their resolve, staving off 3 match points and bringing themselves one point away from forcing a 3rd set tiebreaker. With momentum back in XIS’s hands, TIS used their last timeout to regroup. Returning from the intermission, TIS seized their destiny. Fittingly, the final ball was set wonderfully from Mika to team captain Coco, who finished off the tournament with an emphatic kill.
Elation and cheers exploded, as the girls were mobbed by the Tigers contingent
. The court was filled with tears and smiles as the girls realized a dream 1+ years in the making. Not a moment passed since SCISAC 2012 where the girls could forget the hurt from losing to XIS in last year’s finals. This victory was full redemption for them..
Thank you to all of those who have been following the adventures of the TIS Tigers during the SCISAC volleyball tournament. Please congratulate both the boys and the girls for an amazing effort this year. The Tigers are still hungry, already having hopes for defending the championship and even bring home double gold next year.
Go Tigers!!!!!!!!!!
