Despite star player Tranh Thi Thanh Thuy not playing, defending champion Vietnam opened its bid for back-to-back titles in the AVC Challenge Cup for Women with a 25-13, 25-17, 25-16 drubbing of Hong Kong on Wednesday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Manila.
The Vietnamese squad joined Kazakhstan as early leaders in Pool B at 1-0.
“Actually, I feel like our performance today is really good, but we’re not really satisfied with the match because there were still a lot of mistakes and we need to change this,” said last edition’s MVP Thuy, who did not see action but was in uniform for the match that lasted just 87 minutes.
Just like the previous two sets, Vietnam pulled away after a close start, turning a 9-all affair in the third into a 25-16 victory with opposite spiker Nguyen Thi Bich Tuyen leading the way.
Open spiker Vi Thi Nhu Quynh top-scored for the Vietnamese with 14 points in just two sets of play, scoring nine alone in the second frame.
Tu Yen finished with 11 points, seven coming in the third, including a crosscourt hit for the final point of the game.
Vietnam looks to remain spotless tomorrow when it takes on Singapore at 4 p.m.
Wing Lam Chim paced Hong Kong with nine points, while team captain Ying Chi Yu had seven points.
Hong Kong, which joined Singapore at 0-1, seeks to enter the win column against debuting Indonesia tomorrow at 10 a.m.
