The Vietnamese women’s volleyball team captured a group A semifinal spot in this year’s VTV Cup after a 3-1 victory over Japan’s Shikoku yesterday at Ho Chi Minh City’s Phan Dinh Phung Stadium.
The host side won the first set 25-16 with setter Ha Thi Hoa, blockers Ngoc Hoa, Dieu Chau and Le Thi Muoi, outside hitter Bui Thi Hue attacking from the left side and libero Pham Thu Trang.
In the second set, six poorly setted balls and a weak defensive effort by the home team, however, paved the way for Japanese outside hitters Hirayama Mari and Oyama Tomomi to level the game with a score of 25-23.
A change of strategy in the third and final set, however, helped the Vietnamese side win 25-16 and 28-26.
The Japanese will face China’s Beihang University today for the last semifinal spot in the group.
The race for Group B semifinal spots is now between group leader Banimiwittaya from Thailand, Zetyssu from Kazakhstan and the USA’s St. John University. Viet Nam’s VTV Binh Dinh Long An, China’s Zhong Cai University and Sri Lanka are now incapable of moving on to the next round.
Zetyssu and St. John University will meet each other today, while Banimiwittaya will play against Zhong Cai University.
