Ho Chi Minh City Club entered the game better when they successively won the first 2 sets with scores of 25–19 and 25–23. The solid playing style, the ability to effectively take advantage of opportunities helped the Southern team soon take a 2-0 lead, creating a great psychological advantage.
However, the turning point of the match came in set 3. Da Nang showed a resilient fighting spirit when continuously chasing points. The two teams fiercely clashed, bringing the set into a rarely seen "deuce" streak.
From the 24–24 mark, the game became tense when every small mistake had to pay the price. Although there were many opportunities to close the match, Ho Chi Minh City lacked sharpness in decisive plays.
Meanwhile, Da Nang persistently defended and cherished every counter-attack opportunity, before winning a thrilling 45-43 victory after a long chase of 88 points.
This winning set not only helped Da Nang narrow the score to 1-2 but also rekindled hopes of reversing the situation. Conversely, Ho Chi Minh City will certainly have to improve their ability to "close the score" if they do not want to lose the advantage in the rest of the match.
