Vietnamese women's volleyball team to face China in semifinals

The Vietnamese women's volleyball team (in yellow) loses to the host team Thailand but still secures a spot in the tournament's semifinals. (Photo: AVC)

On September 4, the Vietnamese women's volleyball team played against the Thai women's volleyball team in their next match in the second group stage of the 2023 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship held in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, but failed to emerge victorious.

On this day, the Vietnamese women's volleyball team faced the Thai women's team in the final match of Group E to determine the first and second positions before entering the semifinals of the tournament.

As Vietnam and the Thai women's volleyball team had already secured their spots in the semifinals, this match held purely professional significance. Both Coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet (Vietnam) and Coach Danai Sriwatcharamethakul (Thailand) focused on selecting the most suitable lineups to prepare for the crucial upcoming semifinal matches. However, being the host team, the Thai women's team remained determined to achieve a victory and thus fielded their key players, including Ajcharaporn, Chatchu-on, and Thanacha.

On the opposing side, Coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet introduced a new lineup in the first set, making several changes that included Tran Thi Thanh Thuy, Tran Thi Bich Thuy, Vi Thi Nhu Quynh, Doan Thi Xuan, Pham Thi Hien, Doan Thi Lam Oanh, and Nguyen Khanh Dang. Despite this relatively fresh lineup, the Vietnamese women's volleyball team competed vigorously against the Thai team, displaying determination throughout the match and ultimately securing a 25/23 victory in the first set.

In the second set, the Thai women's team swiftly regained their spirit, exhibiting improved coordination and executing impactful attacks from both sides of the court. This led to a victory for Coach Danai Sriwatcharamethakul's team, with a score of 25/14.

In the third and fourth sets, the coaching staff of the Vietnamese women's volleyball team actively conserved the energy of their key players, particularly their primary hitter, Tran Thi Thanh Thuy. Therefore, she did not participate in the game. Instead, players like Vi Thi Nhu Quynh, Pham Thi Nguyet Anh, and Tran Tu Linh took the field. With a lineup that could not match the opponent's superior performance, the Vietnamese women's volleyball team ended up losing both sets with scores of 19/25 and 23/25, respectively.

Closing the match, the Vietnamese women's volleyball team suffered a 1-3 defeat to the Thai women's team. Once again, they have been unable to clinch a victory against the Thai women's team in the encounters they have had across various tournaments since the start of 2023.

Following this outcome, the Thai women's volleyball team claims the top spot in Group E, while the Vietnamese women's volleyball team gets the second position, both earning berths in the semifinals to vie for top honors. Joining them in the semifinals are Japan and China.

According to the schedule on September 5, the Vietnamese women's volleyball team will go head-to-head with the Chinese women's volleyball team in the semifinals, while the other semifinal showdown will showcase Thailand against Japan./.

By Minh Chien – Translated by Gia Bao (SGGP)