Hanoi, Vietnam, June 8, 2025 – Vietnam, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, and Iran continued their dominant campaigns by claiming their second consecutive victories at the inaugural AVC Women’s Nations Cup at Dong Anh Gymnasium on Sunday, with the host nation thrilled a home crowd of approximately 2,800 with a commanding straight-sets win over Chinese Taipei.
Following an emphatic 3-0 victory against 2022 AVC Challenge Cup winners Hong Kong, China in their Pool A opener, Vietnam once again impressed with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-13) sweep of Chinese Taipei, which had also started strong with a win over Australia.
Setter Đoàn Thị Lâm Oanh effectively marshaled the Vietnamese offense, with opposite spiker Nguyễn Thị Bích Tuyền leading all scorers with 23 points. Captain and outside hitter Trần Thị Thanh Thúy added 19 points, while Nguyễn Thị Uyên contributed 11.
Vietnam, consecutive two-time AVC Challenge Cup winners, completely outclassed their opponents in all departments, registering a 52-30 advantage in kills, a 7-5 lead in blocks, and edging out Chinese Taipei in service aces (5-4). Both sides were even in terms of points gained from opponent errors (11 each).
Chinese Taipei, considered one of the tournament’s strong contenders, struggled to find rhythm, with no player scoring in double digits. Middle blocker Kan Ko-Hui led their offense with 7 points (5 attacks, 2 blocks).
With two straight-set victories, Vietnam sat atop Pool A with 6 points. Chinese Taipei followed with 3 points from one win and one loss, while Hong Kong, China are third with 2 points after an epic five-set win over India. India and Australia are currently at the bottom of the pool standings with one loss each.
Hong Kong, China mounted a dramatic comeback to defeat India in a marathon five-set thriller (22-25, 18-25, 25-15, 25-21, 18-16) on Sunday, lasting an exhausting 179 minutes. After losing the first two sets, Hong Kong, China regrouped, with Chim Wing Lam and Yu Ying Chi each scoring 18 points to spearhead the turnaround.
India’s Anagha Radhakrishnan delivered a match-high 23 points, supported by outside hitter Shaalini Saravanan, but it wasn’t enough to seal the win.
In Pool B action, Kazakhstan claimed their second win, overcoming Mongolia 3-1 (25-14, 24-26, 25-18, 25-15).
Veteran outside hitter and captain Sana Anarkulova led the charge with 24 points, including 4 service aces. Margarita Belchenko added 15 points for Kazakhstan. Mongolia’s Saruulgerel Ganbaatar topped her team’s score sheet with 17 points.
The Philippines also made it two from two, battling back for a dramatic 3-1 (22-25, 25-23, 25-13, 28-26) win over Indonesia in a grueling 138-minute contest.
Angel Anne Canino and Alyssa Jae Solomon paced the Filipinas with 17 points apiece.
Despite strong performances from Indonesia’s Ersandrina Devega Salsabila (22 points) and Ajeng Viona Adelea (21), they fell short in closing out the crucial sets.
Iran joined the list of unbeaten teams with another convincing win, this time rallying from one set down to beat New Zealand 3-1 (23-25, 25-16, 25-12, 25-18).
Zahra Salehi starred for Iran with 15 points, while Sepinoud Dastbarjan and Fatemeh Manzouri Shirehjini added 13 and 12 points, respectively. Petra Manderson led New Zealand with 12 points, the only Kiwi to reach double digits.
Kazakhstan led Pool B with 6 points due to a superior points ratio, followed by the Philippines and Iran, also with 6 points each. Indonesia, New Zealand, and Mongolia are trailing the group with two losses apiece.
On Monday,Kazakhstan will next take on Indonesia, while Australia play India, Philippines challenge Iran, Chinese Taipei meet Hong Kong China and New Zealand face Mongolia. Hosts Vietnam will have two rest days as Tuesday, June 11, is a rest day for recovery.
STANDINGS AFTER TWO DAYS
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