Women's volleyball needs more depth and stability
Vietnamese women's volleyball is possessing many quality players, but in recent international tournaments, especially SEA V.Cup 2026, it shows that the national team still depends quite a lot on the performance of the key players.
In stage 2 of the Southeast Asian Championship, the Vietnamese women's volleyball team lost to Indonesia 2-3 and then suffered a 1-3 defeat to the Philippines. Notably, in the match against the Philippines, Vietnam won the first set 25-22 but then could not maintain the game and let the opponent come back. This is not simply a story about a match, but also reveals the big problem of Vietnamese women's volleyball currently is the ability to maintain the quality of play throughout the match, especially when the game becomes tense.
The Vietnamese team still has individuals who are strong enough to make a difference. Tran Thi Thanh Thuy continues to be one of the most important attacking spearheads, alongside Tran Thi Bich Thuy, Nguyen Khanh Dang, Vi Thi Nhu Quynh or Vo Thi Kim Thoa. That is a framework with a lot of experience and good technical quality.
But when the opponent starts to exploit a link well, the problem of replacing and creating breakthroughs from the bench is not really convincing. Therefore, what Vietnam National Team lacks is not a better hitter, but the depth of the squad.
The Thai team is a role model worth considering. In stage 1 of SEA V.Cup 2026, even without full pillars such as Chatchuon Moksri, Thatdao Nuekjang or Pornpun Guedpard, they still maintained their competitiveness thanks to a quality successor force.
To narrow the gap, Vietnamese women's volleyball needs a young generation close enough in terms of level to the current national team group. Clubs must become places where young players can play more, interact more and have real competition opportunities instead of just playing a reserve role.
Besides that, there is also a tactical problem. When the opponent has carefully studied the main attacking spearheads, the Vietnamese team needs more options to create breakthroughs. A strong team cannot only have outstanding individuals, but must have many ways to score points.
Men's volleyball, don't let the championship be just a moment
If women's volleyball needs more depth, men's volleyball needs stability and a long-term roadmap. The SEA V.Cup 2026 championship is a historic achievement when Vietnam defeated Indonesia in the semi-finals and then overcame Thailand 3-2 in the final, showing that the men's team can completely compete fairly with the strongest opponents in Southeast Asia.
But this championship itself also raises a big question: What will the Vietnamese men's volleyball team do after reaching the top of Southeast Asia?
In stage 1, the team once ranked 4th after losing to Indonesia and Thailand. The limitations in step one, the ability to maintain stability and international competition experience are still there. The team has shown the ability to adjust to return strongly in stage 2, but a successful tournament is not enough to affirm a new position. What Vietnamese men's volleyball needs now is to compete internationally more regularly.
AVC Cup 2027 spot after the SEA V.Cup championship is a very good opportunity. However, the goal should not be just to participate in practice. This must be the next step in a long-term roadmap, where the team can compete, experiment and accumulate experience against top continental teams.
