VTV Bình ?i?n Long An of Vietnam avenged its painful group-stage collapse against Beijing Baic Motor in the most important stage, delivering a dominant 25-15, 25-19, 25-21 victory to seal a gold medal duel with Kazakhstan’s Zhetysu VC in the AVC Women’s Volleyball Champions League at the Philsports Arena late Saturday.
Learning their lesson from an earlier heartbreaker – where they squandered a 2-0 set lead and eventually lost in five – the Vietnamese squad showed remarkable growth and resilience. They struck early against the taller Chinese, adapting their attack patterns and defensive schemes with impressive quickness.
Against Beijing Baic Motor’s towering frontline, VTV Bình ?i?n Long An refused to blink. Powered by the relentless hits of Thi Nhu Quynh Vi and Thi Thanh Thuy Tran, the Vietnamese broke through the Chinese wall with crisp wing attacks and sustained defensive pressure both at the net and on the floor.
This time, they didn’t allow any momentum shift. They seized control midway through the third set with a surge of sharp offense and calm sideouts, effectively quelling Baic Motor’s late rallies to complete a straight-set win and seal their place in the championship match.
The Vietnamese now face Zhetysu VC of Kazakhstan, which earlier swept Thailand’s Nakhon Ratchasima 25-20, 25-21, 25-21, in what promises to be an exciting continental championship match in the tournament organized by Sports Vision and backed by federation partners Mikasa, Mizuno, and Grand Sport.
Gametime is at 7 p.m. Sunday. Meanwhile, Baic Motor and Nakhon Ratchasima will dispute the bronze medal at 4 p.m.
This marks the second straight time that Vietnam and Kazakhstan will dispute an Asian Volleyball Confederation crown although this time, the stakes are at the club level.
The Vietnamese swept the Kazakhs in the gold medal match of the 2024 AVC Women’s Challenge Cup.
Beijing Baic Motor struggled to find its footing, clearly feeling the effects of their grueling five-set quarterfinal win over Petro Gazz on Friday night.
In contrast, VTV Bình ?i?n Long An, coming off a more comfortable four-set victory over Kaohsiung Taipower, entered the semis fresh, composed, and eager to settle an old score.
Its stunning turnaround not only earned Vietnam a shot at the gold but also secured its place in the prestigious FIVB Women’s Volleyball Club World Championship to be held in Thailand this September.
The Vietnamese also shut down Baic Motor’s top scorer Jin Ye to just six points after exploding for 37 points against the Angels.
The reigning Volleyball Vietnam League champions wasted no time seizing control in Set 3l, building an early four-point cushion, 12-8, off a powerful attack from Quynh.
From there, the Chinese club struggled as Binh Dien Long An continued to put on the pressure, pulling away to a commanding 21-16 advantage after Tran stuffed Yufei Lu at the net, all but sealing their runaway victory and their spot in the 2025 FIVB Women’s World..
“We had a really tough match against China last time, five sets. For the Vietnam side, also T4 played in the opposite position instead of an open spiker. That’s essentially the change that we made,” said Binh Dien Long An head coach Thai Quang Lai through a translator.
Thuy posted a game-high 17 points on 13 attacks, three kill blocks, and one ace to go along with eight excellent digs, while Quynh added 14 points on nine attacks, four aces, and a block laced with seven excellent digs.
Thi Phuong Lu scored 13 points, while Polish winger Natalia Lijewska and Thi Kim Thanh Dang had 10 and seven points, respectively, as Binh Dien Long An racked three consecutive victories to get a crack at the championship in the Sports Vision-organized tournament, which is also supported by local partners PLDT, MWell, Eagle Cement, Rebisco, Akari, Gameville, PNVF, PSC, Cignal and The Look Group.
On the other hand, Shan Lanfeng paced with 12 points. Jin struggled for just six markers.
