Jiangmen, China, July 2, 2024 – Vietnam keep their hopes of advancing to round of last 8 teams alive following their 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-19) blitz over Iran in their Pool C encounter at the 22nd Asian Women’s U20 Volleyball Championship at the Jiangmen Sports Center Gymnasium here on Tuesday.
Vietnam succumbed to straight-set loss to Thailand on Monday which forced them to take on Iran in a must-win situation on Tuesday.
“I’m a bit worried about the result of our match. We need to beat Iran in order that we can keep our fingers crossed and advance to the round of last 8 teams. However, at the beginning, my worries have grown so big when Pham Quynh Huong, one of my key players in the team, sustained a sprained ankle. Due to her injury, I don’t think she can play in the remaining match. After this, we will bring her to the hospital for thorough treatment,” Vietnam’s head coach Nguyen Trong Linh commented.
Both sides made an aggressive start and just when Vietnam claimed their very first point in this match, Vietnamese opposite Pham Quynh Huong and outside hitter Hedieh Taleifarkhondeh of Iran collided while landing on the surface which caused sprained left ankle to both of them.
They were carried out of the court for prompt treatment. The game continued, anyway.
Vietnam and Iran fought neck and neck in the opening set, but Vietnam’s reaction against the Iranians was swift and merciless, especially with powerful attacking from outside hitter Dang Thi Hong and skipper Nguyen Lan Vy to establish a 13-7 lead. Iran responded immediately with fast attacks from the 191cm-tall Mobina Sadat Ghafarian Anbarani. The Vietnamese opened a gap as wide as eight points at 22-14, thanks to Nguyen Lan Vy’s attacks. Dang Thi Hong brought Vietnam to the set point 24-18, using his exceptional spike and Le Nhu Anh carried an ace serve to end the Iran’s challenge in the first set 25-18.
Going down one set, Iran upped their tempo and hit back bravely to trail close behind 4-6. However, the Vietnamese girls started to gain control. With Dang Thi Hong playing an important role in the team’s offensive system, Vietnam proved too hot to handle for the spirted Iranians. They counted on contributions from multiple players to win this set. Taking the commanding lead with a seven-point clear at 22-15, Vietnam did not look back, allowing the opponents only one more point to clinch the second set 25-16.
The third set was closely-contested as the lead swung back and forth at the beginning, but Vietnam were more persistent towards the end. At 8-8, Iran counter-attacked well to catch the Vietnamese 8-8 and 11-11 but after that, the Vietnamese started producing the goods. With Dang Thi Hong and Nguyen Lan Vy showing their strengths to hit powerfully at the net, Vietnam stormed on to reach set point 24-16. Iran saved three match points before going down 19-25.
Outside hitter Dang Thi Hong delivered 14 points from 13 kills and one ace for Vietnam, while Nguyen Lan Vy and Pham Thuy Linh added 12 and 11 points respectively. Outside hitter Shaghayegh Hassankhani led Iran with 7 point, all in attack.
The Vietnam’s dominance was visible in the match stats as the winners dominated in kills (42 to 26), blocks (7 to 3) and aces (5 to 2), but Iran benefitted from more opponent errors (22 to 21).
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