A NEW-LOOK Philippine team of collegiate standouts fell short in its Southeast Asian V.League debut against Vietnam, 15-25, 25-19, 21-25, 9-25, at the Vinh Phuc Gymnasium on Friday.
Veteran ace spiker Trần Thị Thanh Thúy, better known as T4, showed no signs of slowing down for the tournament’s first leg hosts.
This comes just over a month since T4 captured her first gold medal for Vietnam’s senior squad at the 2023 AVC Challenge Cup where she also bagged the best outside spiker and tournament MVP honors.
Meanwhile, the opening salvo of the Philippine National Volleyball Federation’s college-core national team ended on a losing note but showed glimpses of promise against a champion side.
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National University’s one-two punch of Bella Belen and Alyssa Solomon introduced themselves in the regional stage as they scored the biggest chunk of the Philippines’ 43 attack points.
Unfortunately, 23 unforced errors killed the nationals’ chances against Vietnam’s offensive juggernaut that saw T4 & Co. combine for 57 hits in just four sets.
Next up for the Philippines is another Asian powerhouse squad in Thailand on Saturday, 5 p.m. local time.
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