One set lost - a persistent weakness

The Vietnamese women's volleyball team just won the AVC Nations Cup 2025 after defeating the Philippines women's team in the final match held on the evening of June 14th with a score of 3-0.

In addition to the championship title, the Vietnamese team also had three players awarded individual prizes: Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen won the title of Best Player and Best Opposite Hitter; Tran Thi Thanh Thuy was awarded the title of Best Outside Hitter; and Nguyen Khanh Dang was voted the Best Libero of the tournament.

In a tournament where Vietnam's opponents were mostly "average" or weak, the championship win by the Vietnamese women's team was predictable. Even more impressive was the overwhelming 3-0 victory for Vietnam; the team only lost one set (19-25) in the semi-final match against Kazakhstan. Unfortunately, this loss highlighted a persistent weakness in Vietnamese women's volleyball that had long been pointed out by volleyball experts: their defensive ability in general, and their first-touch skills in particular. At the end of set 1 and throughout set 2 of the semi-final, the first-touch errors of the Vietnamese players, especially the main hitter and captain Tran Thi Thanh Thuy, were thoroughly exploited by their opponents. This not only gave Kazakhstan a better advantage but also negatively impacted the Vietnamese players' morale.

After the tournament, the head coach of the Vietnamese women's volleyball team, Mr. Nguyen Tuan Kiet, also acknowledged the aforementioned shortcomings. He suggested that the situation could have been worse if the opponent had been a truly strong team.

The AVC Nations Cup 2025 and VTV Cup 2025, starting at the end of this month, are important tournaments to help the Vietnamese women's volleyball team prepare for the 33rd SEA Games later this year, as well as the 2026 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship. Facing very strong opponents such as Thailand (at the 33rd SEA Games) and China, Japan, and South Korea, which we may encounter at the 2026 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship, the Vietnamese team's weak first-pass skills are a fatal flaw that strong teams can effectively exploit. This is the main reason why the second-passing is not smooth, and the attacking options at the net are monotonous and predictable.

Good coaches at both club and national team levels rarely allow this type of weakness to persist year after year.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/mot-set-thua-mot-diem-yeu-dai-dang-706444.html