Photos courtesy of Vietcontent
Devastating Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen scored a match-high 31 points to steer LPBank Ninh Binh to surprise straight-set win against hosts VTV Binh Dien Long An in the highly-anticipated semifinal clash of the 14th VTV9-Binh Dien Cup International Women’s Volleyball Tournament at the packed Buon Ma Thuot City Gym in Dak Lak Province, Vietnam on Friday.
The hard-fought 25-22, 25-23, 25-22 win has moved Ninh Binh a step closer to getting Vietnam back on track to stand proudly on the top of the victory podium since Vietin Bank had made it in 2016, the last edition that a home team had captured the eventual title in this annual tournament.
Both sides fielded formidable lineups in this crucial match. Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen, who delivered 24 points including 21 kills in Ninh Binh’s disappointing 1-3 loss to BCTT Truong Tuoi Binh Phuoc in their last Pool B clash, remained a major force to be reckoned with. Also strengthening Ninh Binh were two Vietnam national team players, middle blockers Le Thanh Thuy and Nguyen Thi Trinh, while star spiker Tran Thi Thanh Thuy and Chinese import Chen Peiyan became the backbone of Binh Dien Long An.
The first set was initially dominated by Ninh Binh, thanks to Bich Tuyen’s exceptional attacks and solid blocks. They led from start 9-4, but Binh Dien Long An counter-attacked aggressively to level it at 10-10. Still, with Bich Tuyen on fire, Ninh Binh widened the gap to 24-21. Chen Peiyan fired a powerful mid-court attack to help Binh Dien Long An narrow the margin 22-24. However, the Binh Dien Long An’s comeback was short-lived as a spike from the Chinese went wide to see Ninh Binh take the thrilling set 25-22.
Ninh Binh still performed well in the second set, with Bich Tuyen and Le Thanh Thuy making excellent offensive combinations to take turns penetrating the rivals’ defence with their attacks and blocks. Binh Dien Long An bounced back to close out the margin at 23-23, but Ninh Binh had enough to hold them off and clinch the hard-fought set 25-23.
Going down straight two sets, Binh Dien Long An, former two-time winners in 2007 and 2010, regained their composure in the third set. Chen Peiyan turned a thorn in the rivals’ blockers, methodically tearing the Ninh Binh’s defence apart with her deadly attacks to put her team in front 22-19. Ninh Binh incredibly clawed their way back to win 6 points in a row to capture the set 25-22, with Bich Tuyen successfully blocking a powerful mid-court spike from Chen Peiyan in the last point of the thrilling match.
Nguyen Thi Bích Tuyen was the lone player of LPBank Ninh Binh to reach double digits in this tough match, scoring a tournament-high 31 points from 23 kills, 4 blocks and 4 aces, while Chen Peiyan delivered 27 points from 26 kills and one block on the VTV Binh Dien Long An’s loss. Nguyen Thi Tra My and Lu Thi Phuong contributed 13 and 7 points respectively for Binh Dien Long An, while the injury-hit Tran Thi Thanh Thuy bagged only 2 points in this match.
LPBank Ninh Binh dominated the blocking game, getting 8 stuffs to Binh Dien Long An’s 3, with aces (7 to 3) and benefitted from more opponent errors (15 to 14). Binh Dien Long An did a good job of leading their opponents in kills (47 to 45).
LPBank Ninh Binh will next face off against unbeaten PFU BlueCats from Japan in the Sunday’s final showdown, while VTV Binh Dien Long An will fight it out with BCTT Truong Tuoi Binh Phuoc in the third place playoff clash to vie for bronze medal on Saturday.
Earlier in the Classification Round for 5th-8th places, defending champions Sichuan from China overcame a stiff challenge from U20 Vietnam to beat the young Vietnamese in closely-contested three-setter 25-22, 25-20, 25-22.
Yuan Gao chipped in with 19 points from 17 kills and 2 aces for Sichuan, while opposite spiker Pham Quynh Huong led U20 Vietnam with 17 points, all from her powerful attacks.
Sichuan will next go up against Hoa Chat Duc Giang Lao Cai in the 5th-6th playoff match, while U20 Vietnam will challenge U20 Thailand for the 7th position, regarding as a tune-up match before both sides will depart for Jiangmen, China for the 22nd Asian Women’s U20 Volleyball Championship from July 1 to 8, the Asia’s qualification tournament for the 2025 FIVB Women’s U21 World Championship.
POOL 1-4 STANDING
POOL 5-8 STANDING
ALL MATCH RESULTS
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