Vietnam fashioned out a 19-25, 25-17, 16-25, 25-18, 15-10 win over Chinese Taipei to secure a place in the AVC Cup for Women semifinals at the Philsports Arena Saturday.
Trailing 6-9, the Vietnamese turned to Tran Thi Thanh Thuy by scoring eight straight points to reach match point.
The Taiwanese were able to save a match point courtesy of fifth set substitute Chang Li-Wen, but the Southeast Asian side was able to close out the two-hour, 20-minute contest with Tran nailing the down the line hit.
“If we got one winning point, we encourage them to play better,” said the 24-year old Tran through an interpreter.
Vietnam, which placed second in Pool B, advanced to semifinals for second time in AVC Cup for Women history and will face the quarterfinals winner between Pool B winners Japan and Pool A’s No. 4 Iran at 7 p.m. today.
“We will try to play together. We will prepare,” said Tran, who scattered nine of her 25 points in the deciding set.
Hoang Thi Kieu Trinh produced five of the Vietnamese’s 15 blocks to finish with 22 points, while Nguyen Thi Trinh was the other player in double figures with 10 points.
It was a sorry loss for Chinese Taipei, which was also ahead in sets, 2-1, before falling short in its bid to make it to the top four.
“We don’t have good reception so we can’t use our offense,” said captain Chang.
Tran, who played in Taiwanese club Attack Line in 2017, proved to be the difference maker in this quarterfinals match.
“Last night, the meeting was about her (Tran). Maybe in the first three sets, we have good defense. It is not easy to defend her,” said Chang.
Chen Tzu-Ya had four service aces for a 19-point effort while Wu Fang-Yu hammered 13 kills for Chinese-Taipei.
The Taiwanese will play on the loser of the quarters duel between the Japanese and the Iranians in the classification round for fifth and eight places at 10 am. today.
