The SHSID Stallions U19 Men’s volleyball team played against YKPao in the opening match of the SSSVL Volleyball League on Thursday, September 16th. The Stallions enjoyed a home advantage but had to endure the pressure of the opening match. The Stallions managed to persevere and started the season with an impressive victory, defeating YKPao 2 sets to 0.

The Stallions experienced a rough start to the game where neither side was able to take the lead. At the start, both sides experienced defensive and offensive misplays which stagnated the progress of the game. 16 points into the first set, and the score was still a tie. At this point, the Stallions were properly warmed up and soon they would start putting the pressure on their opponents. After a few service aces from the host, the Stallions gained an immediate confidence boost which dramatically reduced their errors. This also put great pressure onto the opponents who, in turn, started to play more defensively. Seeing how the opponents were under immense pressure, the Stallions unleashed a devastating offensive push, carrying out more attacks using the middle blocker. After facing some final resistance by their opponents, the Stallions took the first set with a score of 25-18, but the players weren’t satisfied with their performance.

After a rough first set, the Stallions learned to fight more aggressively which led to an astonishing victory. From the very beginning of the second set, the Stallions went head-on towards the opponent. After a few successful attacks by the outside hitters, the Stallions were able to gain an early lead in the game. Even though they had a comfortable lead, the Stallions never went defensive the entire match. Rather, they became more offensive as the match continued. When the score was nearing double digits, the Stallions switched to playing more offensive types of jump floaters and jump serves. Though risky, these offensive serves proved to be useful weapons that quickly widened the score gap. At one point in the game, Andrew Wang scored 7 service aces in a row, demolishing the opponent’s confidence. After a period of intense rallies between the two sides, the YKPao volleyball team made an unexpected move, substituting their starting lineup out of the game. Despite this sudden surprise, the Stallions took the second set with an astonishing score of 25-9, winning the opening match of the season.

The opening victory against YKPao marks the beginning of an optimistic season for the Stallions. The Stallions will now move on to play against their long-time rival, SUIS WY, on September 27th at 5:00 p.m. in the school gym. It will surely be an intense game. We hope to you see on the sidelines cheering on the Blue and Gold!

（Written by Itten Oh 11（2） Pictures by Linxiang Wang Supervised by Linxiang Wang Reviewed by Qian Zuo）