From the sidelines, it certainly seemed as if the team's morale was constantly on a high. While other teams struggled to find their footing, Hua Yi would spur each other on, and their cheers would sometimes even seem intimidating. Hua Yi's performance at the Nationals was certainly a commendable one. Though they were drawn in a tough group consisting North Zone and reigning U16 champions Presbyterian High, South Zone runners-up Cedar Girls' and East Zone second runners-up St Hilda's Secondary, Hua Yi brought the game to their opponents.

During their first match against Presbyterian High, they lost by only two points in their first set, 23-25. Overheard in the spectators' stand was someone commenting, "I heard Hua Yi was good, but I never expected them to be this good!" Indeed, their "self morale-boosters" worked wonders as they proved that they were no pushovers, even managing to take a set off St Hilda's in their last group game.

Tan Xiu Zhen, 16, the team's setter, shared on how the cheering managed to keep her going during matches. "[My teammate's cheers] spur me on to do better. I feel encouraged. When I do not perform up to standard and do not set well, our spikers will not have good balls to spike. Sometimes I will blame myself if the team does not perform. But they encourage me to try again in the next rally."

Yakira Lim, 16, the team's centre spiker added, "Instead of blaming you, [they will] encourage you and inspire you to move on. They tell me -- Don't look back. Just move on and don't think about your past mistakes. In a way, your mindset changes from a pessimistic to an optimistic one when your teammates cheer for you."

Volleyball started in Hua Yi back in the 1960s. Hua Yi has a history of sporting achievement. Walking through the school's heritage gallery, rows of trophies fills their cabinets showcasing the school's past glory. In 1978, the school emerged champions at the Inter-School Volleyball Tournament under the Pasir Panjang Schools Sports Council.

Currently, the B Division team is helmed by coaches Mr Chow Lai Chuen and Mr Yap Ah Kuan. In recent years, their best showing has been runners-up in the West Zone Championship and a Top Eight finish at the Nationals. The team were inspired to create their own cheers after an overseas sports tour to China in 2010.

Captain Lee Sze Ting, 17 shared, "Before we went to China [for our sports tour], our morale would often be very low whenever we were losing. This will eventually affect the whole team. When we went to China, we saw how the teams there cheered and kept their spirits up. So we thought of doing our own cheers to encourage each other.

"This way, we will have a positive mindset to have to do our best, play our best. My coach told us that we have to play every ball like it is the last point. We put in all our effort for every ball and get very excited whenever we win a point. Therefore we scream as if we were the champions."

Of course, it did help that most of the players were a hyper sort, allowing them to constantly keep up their level of cheers. During their weekly training, the team does not let up on their mutual encouragement and constantly keep their spirits up even. Certainly, this has had a positive effect on the players.

Subset T. Divya, 16 commented, "The cheers are very useful. That is why we have many cheers to motivate us. For us girls, our actions are sometimes quite unstable. We tend to get nervous and frightened easy. With all the constant cheering, we can get support. Every time I fail, I will hear people cheering. In a way, I feel like they are cheering for me, asking me to hang on."

Centre spiker Yakira Lim, 16 said, "When we go onto the court, sometimes I feel very nervous. Cheering helps me to open my heart up and play to my very best. It also warms myself up and help me get into the game. I don't need to consider what people on the outside are thinking. I am able to drown out everybody and get into my own zone."

Though the players admitted that they received the luck of the draw during the West Zone Championship, they felt that it was also partially because their training and hard work had borne fruit. None of the players on the team have any primary school experience, which made it slightly more difficult for them to level up to the standards of the top volleyball schools.

For Sze Ting, three out of her four years playing at the Inter-School level had seen Hua Yi receive tough draws and leading to early elimination during the West Zone Championship. By getting into the Nationals, it was indeed something worth celebrating.

But on Hua Yi entering the Nationals Round as a relatively unknown school, she shared, "When we got into the Nationals, many people commented, 'Hua Yi? Never hear (sic) before.' I think this will inevitably lead them to take us lightly as an opponent."

Yakira added, "When we stepped into Presbyterian High (the competition venue), people were shocked. They were probably wondering how come Hua Yi could get into the Nationals. I think they did not know our standard at that time. After our matches, I think people were surprised [that a fourth-placed team could play at this level]. This batch of B Division girls have set the standard for future batches. I hope that we have changed people's mindset and that in future, other schools will no longer look down on us."

Though Hua Yi did not make it past the first round of the Nationals, Xiu Zhen felt that the team's performance was still satisfactory. She said, "We got the result that we wanted. Everybody had hoped to get into the Nationals [and we did it]. The team lived up to expectation with the little experience we had, considering that this was first time playing in the B Division at the National level for everyone."

Yakira shared her thoughts, "Our team did a great job. I think that being able to get into Nationals is already a very good accomplishment. The effort we put in was definitely worth it. If there isn't any result, there must be something wrong with the things we do. [By making it into the Nationals], it probably shows that we are somehow up to a certain standard.

"[As for being drawn against relatively strong teams in the Nationals], we did feel pressurised when we played against them. However, we try to play our very best and not to take into consideration that they are defending champions etc. Instead, we treat them as normal opponents so that we can play well.

"I think that the reason we did not get to beat them is probably because the hours they have put into volleyball is much longer than us. They are certainly more experienced than us and have spent a longer time on court. Their mindset is definitely more stable. When the score gets close, we become very nervous. But for our opponents, they can remain stable and relax partially due to their years of experience. This way, they can continuously keep up their performance."

Captain Sze Ting singled out one player on the team who particularly deserved commendation. "Everybody did quite well and everybody is worth praising," she said. "But maybe there is one reserve Secondary Three player, Rainnie Low, who deserves special praise. Actually, she is not a very confident person. During the last match against St Hilda's, she actually played very well and won the second set for us."

Yakira also felt that the team's setter, Xiu Zhen, did exceptionally well during the competition. She credited her setter as partially being the reason for her successful attacks. She said, "The setter is like a bridge. She sets good balls for us so that we can spike. If the ball she sets is not up to standard, I believe that the spiker will have a hard time spiking.

"She is like the backbone of the team because she controls every second touch. She can decide where to set to. Whatever she does, it will somehow determine what result we get. Also, she's my very close friend so there is this bond between setter and spiker. She knows what kind of ball I need and she understands what I am thinking."

Being in a sports CCA certainly does not come without its sacrifices. Currently, the team trains three times a week, with one day being devoted to training in the gym. During the holidays, training camps will be added to intensify the team's training. As volleyball takes up most of the players' time, the importance of time management becomes evident.

Centre spiker Cassandra Kuan, 16 commented, "Normally, volleyball really takes up most of my time. But I divide my time equally. Sometimes it becomes really very difficult but I still must cope and adapt. I must tell myself that I want to do well and I must do well in studies. I cannot let my parents down and screw up my studies just because of volleyball. Before matches, my classmates gave me words of encourage and told me, 'Trust in your ability'. My friends really helped me a lot."

Sze Ting further shared, "I am an N Level student and I wanted to step down last year [in Secondary Four] as I felt demoralised for not making it to Nationals. In our school, N Level students have the option of stepping down in Secondary Four or Five. But after that, I felt that volleyball is my passion so I decided to go for it and stay on. There were times when I felt like giving up. I felt very tired and didn't feel like going for training. I kept asking why training ended so late and why was it so tough that it made us so tired until we could not concentrate. But now, after I have stood down, I keep yearning for more training!"

Xiu Zhen on the other hand gave things from a slightly different perspective. "It is not so much about sacrifices. Certainly there is less time spent on the computer or watching television programmes as I have to use it to complete my assignments and homework. But I feel that now, I spend my time more efficiently because I can accomplish more things instead of wasting time on the computer or television."

The B Division journey for these seven players on the team has come to an end. But as they graduate from the school, the fond memories that they have gained from their time playing for Hua Yi will certainly follow them for life, especially the fighting spirit, the excellence and most importantly, the friendships forged.

Players from Hua Yi's volleyball team. (L-R) Tan Xiu Zhen, Cassandra Kuan, Yakira Lim, Lee Sze Ting and T. Divya. (Photo © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)

Hua Yi with their third runner-up trophy at the B Division West Zone Volleyball Championship. Together with them are coach Yap Ah Kuan and teacher in charge Mdm Tan Hoe Keng. (Photo courtesy Mdm Tan Hoe Keng)

Xiu Zhen relies on her teammate's encouragement to keep her going whenever she makes a mistake. (Photo © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports archives)

Yakira cheering after winning a point against Bukit Panjang Government High in the 3rd/4th placing match of the West Zone Championship. (Photo © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports archives)

Lim Ruijia (left), a Secondary Three player, and libero Felicia Ng go for the ball in their first round match against Yuhua Secondary. (Photo © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports archives)

Tucked away in a small corner of a trophy cabinet in Hua Yi's heritage gallery is a small plaque. Don't be fooled by its small size as it is proof of Hua Yi's championship winning feat at the 1978 Inter-School Volleyball Championship under the Pasir Panjang Schools Sports Council. (Photo © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)

A challenge trophy won by Hua Yi at the Inter-School Volleyball Championship. (Photo © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)

Captain of Hua Yi, Lee Sze Ting, spikes against her Presbyterian High opponent. (Photo © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports archives)

T. Divyah and teammate Sze Ting clash as both go for the return. (Photo © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports archives)

The hard work of the Hua Yi team finally paid off as they qualified for the Nationals after failing to make it for the past two years. (Photo © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)

Like her teammates, this year was the first time Sze Ting could play at the Nationals. She was certainly exceptionally happy that her team made it for she had missed out on qualification for the past two years. (Photo © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports archives)

Queenie Tan, 16 spikes against Presbyterian High. Their performance during this match was a talking point for many as they showed that they were no easy pushovers in the competition. (Photo © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports archives)

Rainnie Low, a Secondary Three reserve player, celebrating with the team after winning the second set against St Hilda's Secondary. (Photo © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports archives)

The friendship between Xiu Zhen and Yakira allows them to form a close setter-spiker bond. (Photo © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports)

Cassandra Kuan goes up to block a spike from her Cedar opponents during the Nationals. (Photo © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports archives)

Libero Felicia Ng tries to rescue the ball. She injured herself during the match but later bounced back to continue the match. (Photo © Lai Jun Wei/Red Sports archives)

The 2011 B Division Girls' Hua Yi Volleyball Team. (Photo courtesy Mdm Tan Hoe Keng)

This article was syndicated from Redsports. Story and photos © RedSports.