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Vietnam edges Chinese Taipei for spot in AVC Cup semis

Sports | Volleyball

Vietnam edges Chinese Taipei for spot in AVC Cup semis

By Kristel Satumbaga-Villar

Vietnam rode heavily on team captain Tran Thi Thanh Thuy in the fifth and deciding set to edge Chinese Taipei, 19-25, 25-17, 16-25, 25-18, 15-10, and advance to the semifinals of the Asian Volleyball Confederation Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City Saturday, Aug. 27.

Photo from PNVF

Tran went beast mode in the final set when she unleashed nine of her match-high 25 points to seal the win that propelled the Vietnamese straight to the semis versus either the Japanese or the Iranians Sunday.

It was an upset of sorts for the Vietnamese, the 2021 Hanoi Southeast Asian Games silver medalists who came in this nine-day, nine-country tournament as a wildcard entry.

And it was because Tran stepped up when her team needed her most.

The win surpassed Vietnam’s fifth-place finish in the last edition of the biennial event in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand four years ago while putting it in prime position to eclipse its best finish here—a fourth-place performance in Almaty, Kazakhstan exactly a decade ago.

Vietnam coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet credited their triumph to their great defense and strong will.

“We won because of two things, first because we had good defense and second, winning spirit,” said Nguyen via an interpreter.

Tran got some needed help from Hoang Thi Kieu Trinh and Nguyen Thi Trinh, who chipped in 22 and 10 hits, respectively.

The Taiwanese, who were paced by Chen Tzu-Ya’s 19 points, was relegated to the classification group where it would have a chance for fifth place at most.

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