Photos courtesy of Vietcontent
In-form Binh Chung Thong Tin Truong Tuoi Binh Phuoc picked up bronze medal at the 14th VTV9-Binh Dien Cup International Women’s Volleyball Tournament after managing a 3-0 shutout of former two-time champions VTV Binh Dien Long An in the third-place playoff clash at the packed Buon Ma Thuot City Gym in Dak Lak Province, Vietnam on Saturday.
TT Binh Phuoc, which captured the 2011 title to their name, succumbed to straight-set loss to PFU BlueCats from Japan in the first semifinal clash on Thursday, while VTV Binh Dien Long An, winners in 2007 and 2010, suffered a straight-set loss to LPBank Ninh Binh in the second semifinal encounter on Friday.
An estimated 2,000 home fans turned out to watch the bronze-medal match between the two local teams. As TT Binh Phuoc fielded many Vietnam national team players who joined the gold-medal winning Vietnam team at the AVC Challenge Cup for Women in Indonesia last year including Pham Thi Nguyet Anh, Hoang Thi Kieu Trinh, Vi Thi Nhu Quynh and setter Doan Thi Lam Oanh. Also strengthening the team was Thai import middle-blocker Watchareeya Nuanjam.
Binh Dien Long An rested skipper and star spiker Tran Thi Thanh Thuy, who sustained an injury, for the whole match and were spearheaded by Chinese import Chen Peiyan, Vietnam national team middle blocker Nguyen Khanh Dang and another strong middle blocker Lu Thi Phuong .
With Hoang Thi Kieu Trinh on fire, TT Binh Phuoc gained the upper hand initially in the first set to lead 15-11 before Binh Dien Long An were catching up. Chen Peiyan stepped up to the major task of the injured star outside hitter Tran Thi Thanh Thuy and the Chinese had a tremendous performance, firing back-to-back powerful shots to help Binh Dien Long An narrow the gap 20-22. However, the rivals made short work of Binh Dien Long An, allowing them only one more point from Lu Thi Phuong’s fast attack to wrap up the set 25-21.
Their confidence raised following the first-set win and TT Binh Phuoc still performed well consistently in the second set, which they led with a three-point clear at 9-6 before extending it to 15-8 and 21-14. Binh Dien Long An upped their tempo, attempting to make amends for the loss, with outside hitter Phan Khanh Vy and Lu Thi Phuong providing most of the ammunition in the team’s attack. Still, TT Binh Phuoc found their rhythm to storm back heavily with deadly cross-court spikes and solid blocks to clinch the set 25-17.
The third set turned an…
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