The worrying “common denominator” of Vietnamese volleyball

On July 13, the first round of the SEA V.League 2025 international men's volleyball tournament (held in the Philippines) concluded. With the victory on the final day of competition, the Thai team won first place in the round, Indonesia ranked second and Vietnam ranked third among the 5 participating Southeast Asian teams.

The Vietnamese team ended the tournament with 2 wins (against Cambodia and Thailand) and 2 losses (against the Philippines and Indonesia), a better result than the previous participation.

In particular, the 3-1 victory over Thailand and the narrow 2-3 loss to Indonesia show that the Vietnamese men's team has every reason to hope for a good result at the SEA Games later this year - if they continue to maintain the form they showed in the two matches above.

However, difficulties still lie ahead. Through the matches in the first round of SEA V.League 2025, it is easy to see that the Vietnamese team is not playing consistently, especially in the first step and the defense system - weaknesses that are clearly exposed when facing strong teams in the region. In the opening match against the host Philippines, Vietnam lost the first set 17-25.

In the second set, despite leading by 3-4 points, the team quickly tied at the 10th point due to the Philippines' setter's versatility, causing the Vietnamese blockers to often lose their rhythm. The set was a tense affair, but Vietnam lost the chance to take the lead after Quan Trong Nghia's first error at the 19th point and lost 23-25.

In the crucial match against Indonesia, Vietnam had a good time playing both offensively and defensively. However, when entering the decisive set 5, the familiar weakness in the first step reappeared, causing the team to lose quickly.

Like the women's volleyball team, Vietnamese men's volleyball players have long shown weakness in the first step, but this limitation has not been significantly improved.

The immaturity of the next generation of athletes - shown through the first matches of the 2025 National Women's U23 Volleyball Championship (starting in Thai Nguyen last weekend) - further shows the inherent weaknesses that have not been overcome. This situation reflects the shortcomings in the training and education of the next generation. This is an issue that needs to be taken seriously in order to find appropriate solutions for change.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/mau-so-chung-dang-lo-ngai-cua-bong-chuyen-viet-709574.html