Vietnam completed a four-game sweep to top Pool B while Kazakhstan grabbed the last spot of semifinal in the last day of the preliminary round of the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Challenge Cup for Women on Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
The defending champion Vietnamese outplayed Indonesia, 25-17, 25-15, 25-27, 25-13, behind outside hitter Vi Thi Nhu Quynh’s 23 attacks, two service points and a block and Tran Tu Linh’s 10 points to lead a remarkable 4-0 win-loss record.
“The coaching staff used a different rotation today. It is to ensure everyone is involved and ensure everyone is ready to go when the time comes,” Quynh, the Vietnamese team captain, said.
“Before every match, the coaching staff looks at the opposition and has different tactics for each opposition. I’m sure that the coaching staff will do the same thing in scouting the opposition and make sure that we have the best possible formation.”
Indonesia finished with a 1-3 slate.
Kazakhstan blasted Hong Kong, 25-17, 25-18, 25-4, to improve to 3-1 slate in Pool B that bagged the last final four spot of the event backed by Meralco, PLDT, Smart, Akari, AyalaLand, Nuvali, Foton, POC, PSC, Mikasa, Senoh, Asics, Maynilad, Makati Shangri-La, Rebisco, Cignal, OneSports, OneSports+ and PilipinasLive.
Sana Anarkulova fired 19 kills, got two blocks and a service ace while Zhanna Syroyeshkina had 16 points, 10 on attacks, five on service points and a block in the weeklong competition hosted by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) headed by President Ramon “Tats” Suzara.
“This is [a] very serious game. It’s the last chance [for us] to go to [the] semifinal. We understood this, and we need to win. Just win,” Anarkulova said.