Going into the match at the Phuket indoor stadium, Vietnam was considered the underdog against Poland, the bronze medalist in the last three tournaments. The Polish team boasts two world-class outside hitters, Klaudia Alagierska and Martyna Lukasik, both standing over 6 feet tall.
However, coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet's players showed no signs of intimidation, scoring on their first serve and going toe-to-toe with Poland before surprisingly winning the first set 25-23. Despite ultimately losing the match 3 sets to 1, the Vietnamese team expressed contentment with their performance.
"We are thrilled to have played so well against one of the strongest teams in the world," captain Tran Thi Thanh Thuy shared after the match in Phuket. "The team showed great unity and truly relished this match. We came to the world championship to gain experience competing against tougher opponents and to learn at this level."
 |
Vietnamese players celebrate winning the first set against Poland in their opening match of Group G at the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship in Phuket on the evening of 23/8. Photo: FIVB
Throughout the match, Thanh Thuy's powerful spikes were frequently blocked by Poland's tall defenders, limiting her to 6 points. In contrast, Vi Thi Nhu Quynh shone with 20 points, followed by Bich Thuy with 9 and Kieu Trinh with 8.
"It was a challenging match. But winning the first set is a positive takeaway," said coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet. "Poland has many skilled players and deserved the victory. The important thing is that Vietnam gained valuable experience and played with maximum effort."
Despite the loss, Vietnam only dropped 0.01 points in the world rankings due to their set win against the world number 3 team, maintaining their 22nd position.
Following the match, Poland's captain Magdalena Stysiak acknowledged the difficulty of opening matches and praised the Vietnamese team. "We have great respect for Vietnam, and they played very well," she said. "We played poorly in the first set. Fortunately, we recovered and played our best volleyball afterwards. We will learn from this first set for the important matches ahead."
 |
Vi Thi Nhu Quynh (16) spikes against the Polish block in their opening Group G match at the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship in Phuket on the evening of 23/8. Photo: FIVB
The 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship, held from 22/8 to 7/9 in Thailand, features 32 teams from five continents, divided into eight groups. The teams will compete in a round-robin format to determine the top two teams from each group that will advance to the round of 16.
This is Vietnam's first appearance at the world championship. They finished fourth in the 2023 Asian Championship and were promoted to the world championship due to Thailand being the host nation.
On 25/8, coach Kiet's team will face Germany, currently ranked 11th in the world, in their second match.
Duc Dong
