By MARK REY MONTEJO
CANDON CITY – Kristina Belova, Zhanna Syroyeshkina, and Tatyana Yatskiv formed a lethal trio down the stretch and Kazakhstan handed Thi Thanh Thuy Tran and reigning champion Vietnam its first-ever AVC loss, 18-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-22, 15-13, at the end of the elimination round in the 2026 Women’s Volleyball Cup here at the Candon City Arena Friday, June 12.
Bringing a morning action here in the quiet but prosperous city on the country’s Independence Day, the two undefeated Pool B teams engaged each in a nip-and-tuck affair but it was the trio of Belova, Syroyeshkina, and Yatskiv who produced the shots that mattered the most in the deciding fifth set.
There, they took turns in shattering Vietnam’s defense with thunderous spikes before denying the Vietnamese’s final hurrah with Belova and Yatskive spearheading the counter to complete a 5-0 sweep of their group elims.
Aside from the sweep, Kazakhstan gave the four-peat seeking Vietnam its first defeat since the latter team joined the competition in the 2023 edition.
Regardless of the result, both the Kazakh and Vietnamese sides were already assured of semis berths after emerging 1-2.
South Korea and Chinese Taipei also made it to the semi from Pool A.
The 27-year-old Belova led the assault with 21 points on 19 attacks and two blocks, while Syroyeshkina and Yatskiv, meet’s current No. 1 scorer, uncorked 21 and 20 points, respectively.
Yuliya Fomenko contributed 13 points for Kazakhstan, competition’s bridesmaid in 2024, as the Central Asia-based nation aims to reach the podium this year after falling short on the Vietnamese soil last year.
“We played hard against Vietnam. This win is really important for us, and we prepared so much for this game, and I think we did a great job,” said Belova.
Thuy Tran erupted with 25 points – all attacks – to anchor Vietnam’s offense, while Thi Bich Thuy Tran and Thi Thuy Dinh chipped in 17 and 16 points which all went down the drain as Vietnam settled for a 4-1 card.
