The first match in the relegation round of the 2024 National Volleyball Championship - men's category is the clash between Lavie Long An and XSKT Vinh Long.
Long An is considered to be better than its opponent in terms of both strength and expertise. In addition, ranking 6th on the rankings with 8 points is also a great mental advantage for coach Pham Phuoc Tien and his team, compared to the bottom position of Vinh Long (2 points).
However, right in set 1, XSKT Vinh Long surprised everyone by playing more aggressively. They continuously scored points with great contributions from foreign player Alexandr Fomenko in the attacks, thereby winning 25-20 against Long An.
In set 2, Long An continued to face difficulties and was led by an opponent who was in a corner. Unfortunately, XSKT Vinh Long could not maintain their position as the defense played without concentration. Seizing the opportunity, Long An tried to overcome to close the set with a score of 25-21.
In the next two sets, Quang Khoi and his teammates proved their superior strength, defeating their opponents with scores of 25-20 and 25-15, thereby winning 3-1 overall to get closer to the relegation ticket.
Meanwhile, with this result, XSKT Vinh Long has officially been relegated from this year’s tournament even though there are still 2 more matches left. This team has not been able to escape the situation of being promoted and then relegated in the last few seasons.
The late match between Hanoi and Ha Tinh clubs is also important for the relegation position, when the capital team is only 1 point ahead of the Central representative, ranked 7th and 8th respectively on the rankings.
In set 1, Hanoi had the advantage of leading but the gap was not too big. There were times when they let Ha Tinh close in with scores of 11-12, 15-17 or 17-18. However, in the final stage, Hanoi tried to break away to win 25-22.
In the second set, the Central team continued to fall into a chasing position and leveled the score at 8-8. However, after that, Hanoi rose to create a safe gap of 18-14, 22-16... before defeating their opponent with a score of 25-17.
The match was more balanced in set 3, when Hanoi and Ha Tinh chased the score dramatically until the 18th point. With their mettle, the capital representative took advantage of the opportunity to accelerate and win 25-10, thereby winning 3-0 against Ha Tinh.
With this result, Hanoi can be more confident in the relegation race, while Ha Tinh must win points against opponents Lavie Long An and XSKT Vinh Long in the remaining two matches if they want to stay in the national championship.
