Vietnam team lost to African women's volleyball champion

(NLDO) – Having lost 0-4 to Vietnam in a friendly match before the tournament, Kenya quickly learned from their experience to beat Vietnam 3-0 in the world arena.

After defeats against Poland and Germany, hopes of a victory at the world stage against Kenya have not come true for Vietnam. The 2024 African champions, two places behind Vietnam in the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) rankings, accepted defeat in a friendly match in Hanoi more than a week ago just to prepare for a spectacular victory.

Oluoch Adhiambo (11) spread terror to the Vietnamese team's defense

Vietnam team "shocked" by Kenya

Many warnings were given to coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet and his team before the reunion with Kenya in Thailand. The African team played better and better as they went deeper into the tournament, including "stealing" a win from Poland, similar to Vietnam. However, the highlight of Kenya's playing style was the terrifying power of the attack led by Oluoch Adhiambo.

Many of Vietnam's points were lost by Kenya themselves.

In all three games, it was easy to see that the Vietnamese players were really afraid of the hammer-like attacks of Oluoch Adhiambo, Meldinah Sande, Belinda Barasa... Not only that, Kenya's effective blocking line also repeatedly (with 21 successful blocks in the whole match) discouraged the smashes of Thanh Thuy, Nhu Quynh or Kieu Trinh. Although the Vietnamese team changed tactics and personnel continuously, they could not turn the situation around.

Nhu Quynh entered the field at the end of the first half but still scored the most points on the Vietnamese team.

Even a seasoned striker like Thanh Thuy was almost at a standstill against a very strong opponent with many defensive strategies. The strength of the Vietnamese team is their strong fighting spirit, always trying to pursue fiercely despite being disadvantaged in many aspects, but that is not enough.

In the end, the Vietnamese women's volleyball team said goodbye to the tournament with a 0-3 loss (23-25, 22-25, 18-25) to Kenya, also the third defeat in this world arena.

Vietnam team's sadness

Losing all 3 matches and leaving the 2025 Women's Volleyball World Championship empty-handed is probably the biggest sadness for Vietnamese women's volleyball, even though this journey has brought many valuable experiences. History cannot call the name of Vietnamese volleyball when the team under coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet collapsed after 3 matches against Kenya, an opponent two places below them on the FIVB rankings and will surpass them after this victory.

Kenya won very convincingly

Leaving the tournament with three consecutive losses, the Vietnamese team could not have the farewell they expected. Their scores and world rankings dropped, but certainly, what the team experienced was valuable baggage. For the first time participating in the world arena, the Vietnamese athletes clearly felt the harshness of top-level volleyball, from speed, strength to tactical operation.

The farewell of the Vietnam team was not pleasant at all.

Failure at the world championship is not the end. Vietnamese volleyball cannot yet break into the top group of the world, but we can still nurture the aspiration to rise high in Asia - where we have been asserting our position. SEA Games, ASIAD or Asian Cup will continue to be realistic goals for Vietnamese players to aim for.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/tuyen-viet-nam-bai-tran-truoc-nha-vo-dich-bong-chuyen-nu-chau-phi-196250827191800976.htm