Vietnam overcomes Kazakhstan, guns for 5th place in AVC

BIÑAN, Laguna—Vietnam averted disaster and stopped Kazakhstan in five sets, 25-22, 25-18, 21-25, 20-25, 15-5, to vie for a fifth place finish in the AVC Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship Wednesday at Alonte Sports Arena here.

Tran Thi Thanh Thuy put up a game-high 26 points as she led the Vietnamese’s upset of the 21st-ranked team in the world.

Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hoa added 22 points for the Vietnamese, who will face Chinese-Taipei in the match for the fifth place.

The no. 44 team in the world lit up on the offensive end, converting 68 of its 197 spike attempts while limiting its errors to just 19.

Yekaterina Zhdanova led the Kazakhs with 23 points while Alessya Safronova added 14.