Photos courtesy of Vietcontent
In-form Binh Chung Thong Tin Truong Tuoi Binh Phuoc picked up bronze medal at the 14th VTV9-Binh Dien Cup International Women’s Volleyball Tournament after managing a 3-0 shutout of former two-time champions VTV Binh Dien Long An in the third-place playoff clash at the packed Buon Ma Thuot City Gym in Dak Lak Province, Vietnam on Saturday.
TT Binh Phuoc, which captured the 2011 title to their name, succumbed to straight-set loss to PFU BlueCats from Japan in the first semifinal clash on Thursday, while VTV Binh Dien Long An, winners in 2007 and 2010, suffered a straight-set loss to LPBank Ninh Binh in the second semifinal encounter on Friday.
An estimated 2,000 home fans turned out to watch the bronze-medal match between the two local teams. As TT Binh Phuoc fielded many Vietnam national team players who joined the gold-medal winning Vietnam team at the AVC Challenge Cup for Women in Indonesia last year including Pham Thi Nguyet Anh, Hoang Thi Kieu Trinh, Vi Thi Nhu Quynh and setter Doan Thi Lam Oanh. Also strengthening the team was Thai import middle-blocker Watchareeya Nuanjam.
Binh Dien Long An rested skipper and star spiker Tran Thi Thanh Thuy, who sustained an injury, for the whole match and were spearheaded by Chinese import Chen Peiyan, Vietnam national team middle blocker Nguyen Khanh Dang and another strong middle blocker Lu Thi Phuong .
With Hoang Thi Kieu Trinh on fire, TT Binh Phuoc gained the upper hand initially in the first set to lead 15-11 before Binh Dien Long An were catching up. Chen Peiyan stepped up to the major task of the injured star outside hitter Tran Thi Thanh Thuy and the Chinese had a tremendous performance, firing back-to-back powerful shots to help Binh Dien Long An narrow the gap 20-22. However, the rivals made short work of Binh Dien Long An, allowing them only one more point from Lu Thi Phuong’s fast attack to wrap up the set 25-21.
Their confidence raised following the first-set win and TT Binh Phuoc still performed well consistently in the second set, which they led with a three-point clear at 9-6 before extending it to 15-8 and 21-14. Binh Dien Long An upped their tempo, attempting to make amends for the loss, with outside hitter Phan Khanh Vy and Lu Thi Phuong providing most of the ammunition in the team’s attack. Still, TT Binh Phuoc found their rhythm to storm back heavily with deadly cross-court spikes and solid blocks to clinch the set 25-17.
The third set turned an intense battle when both sides poured everything to win the set. Scores were leveled for several times at 17-17, 19-19 and then 22-22 before TT Binh Phuoc bagged three points in a row to capture the hard-fought set 25-22, match and bronze medal.
Hoang Thi Kieu Trinh chipped in with 16 points from 14 kills and 2 blocks for BCTT TT Binh Phuoc, while Vi Thi Nhu Quynh and Pham Thi Nguyet Anh kept good company to contribute respective 13 and 11 points. Lu Thi Phuong led Binh Dien Long An with 13 points including 10 kills and 2 blocks and Chen Peiyan added another 12 points including 11 kills.
Earlier in the Classification Round for 7th-8th places, U20 Thailand posted a dramatic 3-1 (25-20, 25-17, 21-25, 25-19) win against U20 Vietnam.
Nakarinporn Budda delivered 16 points from 15 kills and one ace for U20 Thailand, with Papatchaya Phontham and Warisara Seetaloed adding 15 and 13 points respectively. Outside hitter Dang Thi Hong scored a match-high 24 points, all from her powerful attacks, on the U20 Vietnam’s loss.
Following the win, U20 Thailand finished 7th place, with U20 Vietnam on the bottom 8th position. Both teams are set to face off against each other again in Pool C at the 22nd Asian Women’s U20 Championship in Jiangmen, China between July 1 and 8, which serves as the Asia’s qualification tournament for the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s U21 World Championship.
On Sunday, the final day of the tournament, Sichuan from China will take on HCDG Lao Cai in the 5th-6th place playoff clash at 5pm local time, while PFU BlueCats from Japan will fight it out with LPBank Ninh Binh in the final showdown at 8.10pm. The awards presentation and closing ceremony will take place shortly after end of the final match.
POOL 1-4 STANDING
POOL 5-8 STANDING
ALL MATCH RESULTS
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