According to the competition schedule issued by the Vietnam Volleyball Federation, the women's event of the second phase of the 2024 national championship will take place from November 7 to November 17 in Lao Cai.
The 9 women's clubs participating in phase 2 are VTV Binh Dien Long An, LPB Ninh Binh, Duc Giang Lao Cai Chemicals, Truong Tuoi Binh Phuoc Information Corps, Quang Ninh, Long Son Thanh Hoa Cement, Vietinbank, Geleximco Thai Binh, Hanoi.
Among them, the Information Corps is the team aiming to achieve a high ranking in this year's tournament. To achieve this, the setter position will be very important.
The army team currently has a national player who plays consistently in the setter position, Doan Thi Lam Oanh. However, coach Pham Minh Dung will likely still need the presence of veteran setter Nguyen Linh Chi.
For more than 2 years now, she has switched to coaching and motivating young players as well as building a family and giving birth to children. However, when the home team needed to strengthen the setter position, the female player born in 1990 returned to the field to compete with her juniors since the Hoa Lu - Binh Dien Cup (March 2024), phase 1 of the 2024 National Volleyball Championship, Hung Vuong Cup...
"Linh Chi is one of the players who still ensures the ability to compete and can change the situation at the decisive moment. The most important point that Linh Chi has while young players have not achieved is experience and tactical vision when coordinating the team's formation," the representative of the Information Corps team shared before the first phase.
In the following tournaments, she always fulfilled her duties when she was put on the field to support setter Lam Oanh. Although she is over 30 years old, Linh Chi still moves flexibly, has fast, well-balanced, and skillful passes. The appearance of this veteran setter helps the Signal Corps' playing style become more flexible. Above all, it is the female player from Phu Tho who always encourages and lifts the spirit of her juniors on the field in difficult times.
Compared to last year, the 2024 national championship has changed its format to a round-robin format, leaving the tournament with only 1 ranking instead of 2 like previous seasons.
Closing the first phase, the Information Corps is leading with 12 points, above VTV Binh Dien Long An and LPB Ninh Binh respectively. With the current ranking, coach Pham Minh Dung's team has no reason not to aim to compete for a high ranking this season.
However, the army team needs to carefully calculate the technical and personnel aspects because the competition in phase 2 is very fierce, the technical quality of the teams will also be improved after a period of preparation.
The first match of the second phase of the Information Corps is the confrontation with the current runner-up Duc Giang Chemicals. This is considered one of the most anticipated matches of this phase. Duc Giang Chemicals has just returned from the Asian Club Championship and defeated the Information Corps in the Dong Anh District Loa Thanh Open Cup friendly tournament.
Therefore, Linh Chi and her teammates need to prepare for this match as well as phase 2. Most likely, coach Pham Minh Dung will have more reinforcements from foreign players to be ready for the dramatic matches ahead.
