Coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet had a successful 2024 with the Vietnamese women's volleyball team when participating in 5 international tournaments and achieving many good results. The professional mark of the coach born in 1976 is clearly shown through each tournament.
Closing his mission with the national team, Mr. Nguyen Tuan Kiet returned to the club, leading the VietinBank women's team towards phase 2 of the 2024 national championship. This continues to be an important task for this coach because in phase 2, the competition between the teams will be very fierce.
In the current VietinBank squad, there are notable faces such as middle blocker Dinh Thi Tra Giang, setter Nguyen Thu Hoai... With Tra Giang, she and coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet have accompanied each other from the club level to the national team. Therefore, the strengths of the 1992-born hitter will certainly be thoroughly utilized by Mr. Kiet.
Standing at 1m82 tall, with a 3m05 jump, good blocking range (2m97), and a firm grip on the net, Tra Giang always moves flexibly when playing on the field. Although playing as a middle blocker, the girl from Lang Son has a flexible playing style combined with skillful jumps and flexible wrists. She is the type of player who has a balance between attack and defense.
Tra Giang is also the only female player in VietinBank's squad, so the responsibility of scoring and leading the team will fall on the shoulders of this middle blocker.
As for Thu Hoai, she has a height of 1m74 and the ability to coordinate well with her teammates. However, compared to Lam Oanh on the national team, coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet needs to have more exercises and notes so that Thu Hoai is quick in terms of tactical vision and has more beautiful passes.
In general, VietinBank's squad is not highly rated compared to opponents such as LPB Ninh Binh, Duc Giang Chemicals, Thanh Hoa... Therefore, in phase 2, the Banking team has added foreign players to increase its strength. Katarina Pilepic - Croatian setter is the chosen name.
Katarina Pilepic was born in 1994 and is 1m82 tall. She is familiar with Vietnamese volleyball when she recently played for Kuanysh VC (Kazakhstan) in the VTV Cup 2024 and the Asian Club Championship 2024. Although her main position is opposite setter, she can also play well when playing as a main attacker.
Coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet said that there is not much time left until the second phase of the national volleyball championship officially takes place. Therefore, VietinBank will make the most of the time for foreign players to get acquainted with the squad. The captain of the VietinBank team led the Vietnamese women's team at the VTV Cup 2024, so it is likely that he has a general assessment of Katarina Pilepic.
In the 2023 season, VietinBank won 5th place. This year, the team's goal is to strive to ensure the results from last season. Closing phase 1, Tra Giang and his teammates are ranked 6/9 with 5 points (2 wins, 2 losses).
Coach Nguyen Tuan Kiet and his team need to prepare carefully, aiming for the upcoming important matches to complete the set goals. In phase 2, VietinBank will meet Thai Binh, Thanh Hoa, Quang Ninh and Duc Giang Chemicals.
This week, the team will have training and a friendly match with the current national champion LPB Ninh Binh in their professional preparation.
Phase 2 of the 2024 National Volleyball Championship will take place from November 7 to November 17 (women's event) and from November 21 to December 1 (men's event).
Currently, the 9 men's and 9 women's teams of the 2024 National Volleyball Championship have not registered their squads for the second phase of the tournament. The teams are still preparing their squads, with personnel reinforcements. At the time of preliminary registration, the teams will make a squad list and send it to the organizing committee of the 2024 National Volleyball Championship.
