CANDON, Ilocos Sur – Vietnam and Kazakhstan moved to the cusp of semifinal qualification after securing their third consecutive wins in the 2026 AVC Women’s Volleyball Cup, presented by the Philippine Sports Commission, on Monday at the Candon City Arena here.
The defending champions, Vietnam, were pushed to the limit but held off Indonesia in a five-set thriller, 18-25, 25-22, 25-18, 19-25, 15-13. Kazakhstan, meanwhile, overcame a sluggish start to defeat Iran, 13-25, 25-20, 25-14, 25-19.
Both teams remain unbeaten at 3-0 atop Pool B and are now one win away from securing semifinal berths. Vietnam will next face Iran, while Kazakhstan takes on Lebanon on Thursday.
Trần Thị Thanh Thúy and Thi Như Quỳnh Vi led the charge for Vietnam with 22 points each, while Nhu Anh Le added 15 markers in the hard-fought win.
Indonesia was paced by Ersandrina Devega, who delivered a game-high 26 points in a valiant effort.
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For Kazakhstan, Kristina Belova powered the offense with 23 points on 21 attacks and two kill blocks. Tatyana Yatskiv and Yuliya Fomenko chipped in 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Fatemeh Khalili led Iran in the losing effort with 23 points built on 17 attacks, four aces, and two kill blocks, while Elahe Poursaleh added 10 markers as Iran slipped to 0-2.
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In another Pool B encounter, Hong Kong finally broke through for its first win after a commanding 25-20, 25-8, 25-13 sweep of Lebanon in the tournament co-presented by the FIVB, AVC, Volleyball World, and Candon City headed by Mayor Eric Singson.
Tang Sumyuen led Hong Kong with 14 points on 12 attacks and two aces, while Shum Lam contributed 12 markers.
Lebanon, now 0-2, was led by Shantalle Marie Demirjian with 10 points.
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In the nightcap, Chinese Taipei stretched its winning streak to two and climbed into a share of the Pool A lead with South Korea after outlasting Australia in four sets, 25-20, 17-25, 25-22, 25-19.
Chang Yichi topped Chinese Taipei with 21 points on 18 attacks and three aces, while Tsai Yuchun and Yeh Yuwen added 13 and 10 points, respectively.
For Australia, now 1-1 in Pool A, Chelsea Cocks and Lara Maric finished with 11 points apiece in the loss.
