A 24-year wait ended for Victoria Junior College today when their A Division boys claimed their first volleyball championship title after beating Hwa Chong Institution 3-1 at the Yio Chu Kang Sports Hall.

The triumph came after they had got off to a shaky start in losing the first set.

"It was definitely a meaningful victory for me," said VJC coach Woo Kok Onn, 58, who had also trained the winning team in 1991.

But VJC fell short of a coveted double gold win as the Nanyang Junior College girls avenged their defeat by the VJC girls at last year's championships, winning 3-2 in a tight contest.

"I think we put up a good fight even though we didn't have two of our stronger players. We tried not to let it affect us and focused on playing our game," said VJC spiker Claudia Tan, 18, referring to team-mates Wang Kai Qi, 18, and Ng Yen Yi, 18, who suffered leg cramps.