Temasek Polytechnic, Monday, 5 January 2009 - Coming back from the jaws of defeat to snatch glorious victory is stuff of the legends.

In over two hours, last year’s runners-up Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) did exactly that when they came from behind to seal a dramatic 3-2 (20-25, 25-23, 23-25, 29-27, 17-15) victory at the expense of Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) in their opening Group B match at Temasek Polytechnic.

The fourth set was where the fairy tale began for NP. Staring a loss after a tense encounter that led to deuce at 24-all, they threw everything they had to deny their opponents the moment of glory and live on to fight for another point.

With such resilience and determination to stay alive, they forced NYP to spurn match point after another while waiting for their turn. When it came, they forced the fifth set.

It appeared that all their efforts late in the previous set would be gone to waste as NYP wasted no time racing to a 7-2 lead in the decider.

When it all seemed lost again for NP, a timeout sparked life back into their game.

Gone was the pessimism; in came the defiance and refusal to throw in the towel in the face of overwhelming odds. They steadily reduced the deficit and pushed themselves back in the reckoning.

They eventually clawed their way to match point at 14-13, but Mainisah Buang’s failure to tip the ball over the net forced another deuce and a tense pursuit for the win from both teams.

Led by the lanky Valerie Poh Yun Ning, NYP threw everything they could at a fast-tiring NP to force deuce and match point, but the latter’s spirit simply refused to be vanquished.

Poh thought she had done enough when it was her turn to serve at 15-all. Alas, her serve went straight to the netting and gifted match point to NP.

NP skipper Goh Ying Xuan was delighted with her team’s fight back to start their campaign on a winning note.

“When we were losing and felt being looked down upon, we had the feeling of wanting to give up,” she admitted.

“However, as we had nothing to lose, all we did was to go and enjoy the game and used our fighting spirit to keep us there.

“This victory is for everyone, especially for the rookies who form half of the (new-look) squad, they deserved it.”

With three points in the bag, Goh is looking to help her team advance to the semi-finals. “For me and the team, we still want to get into the top four, our target for this tournament,” she declared.

“However, even if we lose, we want to lose knowing that we have played to the best of our abilities and have no regrets.”

Her NYP counterpart Madonna Koh Sheng Yu lamented at the lost opportunities to seal the game when it was in her team’s hands.

“It was simply disappointing to lose (in the way we did). We worked hard and gave our all, but just somewhat lacked that bit of luck tonight.

“When we were on the verge of winning, it was simply very exciting because we knew we had the chance.