The victorious Sarawak contingent posing for a group photograph after the prize presentation at the UIAM Sports Complex in Kuantan, Pahang last Friday.
KUCHING: Sarawak continued to excel in the Malaysian Schools Sports Council (MSSM) volleyball when they captured two gold medals and one silver in the annual championship to finish joint overall champions with Selangor at UIAM Sports Complex in Kuantan, Pahang, from March 13-8.
Sarawak’s two gold came from the Boys’ U18 and Girls’ U12 categories while Selangor were victorious in the Girls’ U18 and Boys’ U12 competitions.
Defending champions Sarawak managed to retain their title after a hard-fought battle with Sabah, edging their Borneo neighbour 3-2.
The Sarawakians took the first set 25-21 but Sabah caught up by winning the second set 26-24. Sarawak regained the lead 2-1 as they won the third set 25-16 but Sabah did not throw in the towel and fought back 25-15 in the fourth set to force a decider in which Sarawak won 15-12.
In the Girls’ U12 final against Johor, Sarawak took the first at 15-5 but lost the second 12-15 before bouncing back to win the next two sets 15-12, 15-9 for a 3-1 victory.
Sarawak failed to retain the Girls’ U18 crown and only managed third placing after beating host Pahang 3-2 (26-24, 25-20, 15-25, 21-25, 15-13) in the play-off.
Meanwhile, Sarawak made a clean sweep of the individual awards in the best players category, with Johnny Kong Kai Lun named Best Boy Spiker and Ranjit Singh Most Valuable Player in Boys’ U18, Ting Hui Chin as Best Receiver, Maida Song Hua Ee as Best Setter and Mandy Song Ting Em as Best Spiker in Girls’ U18, Joyce Teo Xu Yan as Best Receiver, Ley Yieng Lin as Best Setter, Chore Wong Rong Rong as Best Blocker and Cherly Tie Tin Tin as Most Valuable Player in Girls’ U12.
Other teams in the six-day championship were Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Perak, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, Terengganu and Kelantan.
Recipients of the individual awards from the Sarawak contingent posing with their certificates.