Last year, they came third in both the Interport Championships in Macau and the Asian Schools Championship in Vietnam.

Yannes has twice represented Hong Kong at the All China Secondary Schools Students' Championships, in 2010 and last year, and also at the National Intercity Games.

She is a setter for her Tseung Kwan O school team, who won the A-grade girls' title at this year's Inter-school (Division One, Kowloon) competition. They came second at this year's All Hong Kong Schools Jing Ying Tournament.

Yannes also trains with the Hong Kong girls' youth beach volleyball team. She and schoolmate Koo Yung-yung came second at the All China Secondary Schools Students' Championships in 2010. They also won the Inter-school (Division 1) title in the 2010-11 school year and came second this school year.

Soundbites

'Edward Chan Shiu-ki, my teacher, got me started in volleyball,' Yannes says. 'I was a keen swimmer at primary school, but when I started Form One, I found we had no school swimming team. Mr Chan said that, as I was tall for my age, I should try volleyball.

'In my first year, we won the Division Three championship, and were promoted to Division Two. We played matches every week; they say practice makes perfect. We gained promotion to Division One. This year we won the A-grade Division One title.

'Last Wednesday I went to the inter-school volleyball prize-giving ceremony. I was feeling really ill, but didn't want to miss it as I knew it was going to be my last chance to attend.

'I couldn't believe that, for the sixth time, I received the prize for our school.'

From her coach

'Yannes demands a lot of herself as a player,' Chan says. 'In Form Four, she changed from playing subsetter to setter. We hold extra morning training before class and Yannes asked to take part so she could get better in the position. She uses pressure to motivate herself: it's her unique character.'

Ambitions

'I hope to get into Hong Kong's senior beach volleyball team one day,' Yannes says. 'I'll also fight for a place on the Hong Kong girls' junior indoor volleyball team. I hope I can play in my third All China Secondary Schools Students' Championships in September and Asian Schools Championships in Thailand in October.'