Phots courtesy of Vietcontent
Vinh Phuc, Vietnam, August 3, 2024 – The First Leg of the 4th SEA V. League reaches its climax on Sunday when perennial Southeast Asian Games champions Thailand and long-time archrivals Vietnam locked horns in electrifying showdown at Vinh Phuc Gymnasium to fight for supremacy.
Thailand and Vietnam celebrated their straight two victories on Saturday, with the former mercilessly crushing the Philippines in lopsided battle and the latter powering past Indonesia in well-fought three-setter.
The Sunday’s showdown between Thailand and Vietnam proved to be one of the highly-anticipated clashes fans and supporters of both sides should not miss. Thailand had played Vietnam in the SEA Games finals for 11 times since they first met in 2001 and the former beat the latter every time they played. The last time they faced off against each other was at the rescheduled 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games on October 7, 2023 in China, where Thailand beat the Vietnamese 3-0 in the bronze medal match. In September in the same year, Thailand beat Vietnam 3-1 in the Pool E Top 8 round of the Asian Senior Women’s Championship in Nakhon Ratchasima, where hosts Thailand cruised on to capture their third Asian crown.
In the previous editions of the SEA V. League, formerly known as Asean Grand Prix, Thailand also proved a class above Vietnam to beat the Southeast Asian counterparts every match they had contested. The Thai team had captured the title since the tournament inception in 2019. Last year, Thailand beat Vietnam in their last match of the single round-robin competition in both First Leg here in Vinh Phuc and Second Leg in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
However, with skipper and outside hitter Tran Thi Thanh Thuy at the helm, Vietnam had rapidly made their mark in major competitions, winning the AVC Challenge Cup for two times in succession to their name apart from picking up historic bronze medal at this year’s FIVB Volleyball Challenger Cup in the Philippines.
Moreover, Vietnam just had the 188cm-tall opposite Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen to strengthen them, making the team one of the region’s strongest teams to be reckoned with in the near future. Powerful Bich Tuyen had already become widely known among volleyball enthusiasts when she had emerged as the Best Scorer at the recent FIVB Challenger Cup following an aggregate 77 points she had scored and the Best Attacker with 73 attack points earned in that tournament.
Therefore, the Sunday’s confrontation between the region’s two powerhouses promises thrills and is really worth watching.
On Saturday, Thailand, current world No.14 and defending and consecutive 14-time SEA Games winners, demolished the Philippines in easy straight sets 25-12, 25-18, 25-10 in 70 minutes, while Vietnam swept Indonesia also in straight sets 25-19, 25-17, 25-19 in 79 minutes.
Vietnam, backed by around 2,500 cheering home fans at the venue, fought hard in a tough match against Indonesia. With star spiker Tran Thi Thanh Thuy and powerful hitter Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen leading the team’s offense, Vietnam lived up to all expectations.
Vietnam started well in the opening set. Tran Thi Thanh Thuy, Le Thanh Thuy and Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen rose to the occasion and thrived in the offensive system orchestrated by experienced setter Doan Thi Lam Quynh with the powerful trio registering five points apiece to help the host side seal the first set 25-19.
Going down one set, Indonesia put their acts together in the second set. Opposite Pertiwi Megawati Hangestri put the team back on the right track with her exceptional attacks. Still, the Vietnamese defended spectacularly in the crucial moments and counter-attacked well to take the second set 25-17.
The third set remained well-fought, with both sides pouring everything to win the set. However, as unforced errors started to take it toll in the Indonesian side, leaving them to lose focus and lose some important points, Vietnam continued their good show. Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen and Le Thanh Thuy became consistent weapons for Vietnam which saw the host side come up with solid performance to take the thrilling set 25-19 for a straight-set sweep.
Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen led Vietnam’s offense with 14 points from 13 kills and one block, followed by Le Thanh Thuy with 10 points including 6 kills and Nguyen Thi Trinh with 8 points. Pertiwi Megawati Hangestri led Indonesia with 13 points.
The Vietnam’s dominance was visible in the match stats as the winners dominated in kills (38 to 35), blocks (9 to 6), aces (5 to 3) and benefited from more opponent errors (23 to 11).
Earlier, fresh from 3-0 rout of Indonesia the previous match, Thailand still brought their best players to the court on Saturday, all of whom competed in this year’s Volleyball Nations League including Chatchu-On Moksri, Pimpichaya Kokram, Ajcharaporn Kongyot, Thatdao Nuekjang and Hattaya Bamrungsuk.
Thailand made a solid start in the first set to lead with a six-point clear at 10-4 and stayed in control to widen it to 23-10. Hard-hitting Thanacha Sooksod brought Thailand to the set point at 24-10 with her off-speed hit. However, the Philippines, powered by opposite Alyssa Jae Solomon, who delivered 20 points on the team’s loss to Vietnam on Friday, saved two set points before Thanacha slammed a powerful hit for the Thailand’s 25-12 win.
The second set was still dominated by Thailand, with Ajcharaporn on fire in attack. The Thais raced to a 16-11 lead and cruised on with their consistency and resilience. As Thailand were leading 24-17, outside hitter Nisperos Faith Janine Shirley delivered one crucial point for Philippines from her block-out kill, but she made a service error after that for the 25-18 scoreline in favor of Thailand.
Thailand remained unstoppable in the third set to lead 23-10 before sub-in Wimonrat Thanapan fired a deadly fast spike and Kuttika Kaewpin hit a powerful swing to hand the team the remaining two points to close the set 25-10 and the match their way.
Chatchu-On Moksri chipped in 11 points from 7 kills, one block and 3 aces for Thailand, while Ajcharaporn Kongyot and Pimpichaya Kokram contributed 10 and 9 points respectively. No Philippine player reached double digits in scoring, with Mhicaela Belen and Alyssa Jae Solomon scoring 5 points apiece on the team’s loss.
POOL RANKING
MATCH SCHEDULE
QUICK LINKS
AVC Website: click www.asianvolleyball.net
AVC Facebook: click www.Facebook.com/AsianVolleyballConfederation
AVC Twitter: click: www.twitter.com/AsianVolleyball
AVC Instagram: click: https://www.instagram.com/avcvolley/?hl=en
Mikasa Instagram: click: https://www.instagram.com/mikasasports_official
AVC Youtube: click: Asian Volleyball Confederation
AVC WeChat: Asian Volleyball Confederation