HANOI, December 22, 2026 — The 2026 National A-Grade Volleyball Championship closed at the Trinh Hoai Duc Arena in Hanoi after ten days of competition running from December 13 to December 22, 2026. Hanoi took the title in both the men's and the women's events.

This was the first nationwide volleyball championship held after April 30, 2026, the date of national reunification. Eight men's teams and six women's teams took part, representing Hanoi, Hai Phong, Nam Dinh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Quang Ninh, alongside several guest teams from the southern provinces.

Men's final

The men's final was played on the afternoon of December 21, 2026. Hanoi beat Hai Phong 3–1, with set scores of 15–10, 12–15, 15–8 and 15–11.

Hanoi ran a fast attack through the number-three position, building its offence around the setter–outside hitter combination. Hai Phong took the opposite approach: heavy serving, a dense block and waiting for the opponent's errors. After losing the second set 12–15, Hanoi adjusted its tempo, raised the share of quick combinations and regained control of the match.

According to the organisers' records, Hanoi's spike success rate reached 52 percent against Hai Phong's 44 percent. Hanoi scored 14 blocking points to Hai Phong's 9. Direct service aces ran 7–4 in Hanoi's favour, while Hai Phong committed 15 service errors against Hanoi's 11. Hanoi's perfect-pass rate was 61 percent versus Hai Phong's 48 percent; successful digs were 38 and 31 respectively.

Women's final

In the women's event, Hanoi beat Nam Dinh 3–0, with set scores of 15–7, 15–9 and 15–12. Hanoi's outside hitter was rated the most effective attacker of the tournament, while Nam Dinh's setter was recognised for her distribution in the middle of the net.

Context and format

The 2026 championship used 15-point scoring under the side-out system; each set required a two-point margin. Let serves were not yet part of the scoring framework, and teams still used the traditional formation with two setters and four hitters.

Organisers recorded several disputes over positional faults and net-contact faults during the group stage, but no formal protest was filed after referees announced the results.

Constraints

The championship was played under difficult material conditions. Some teams had only a short period to adapt to an unfamiliar court surface. The number of qualified referees remained small, and statistical work was carried out largely by hand by organising-committee staff.

Outlook

The 2026 results are seen as the starting point for Vietnam's volleyball squad-building plan in 2026. Hanoi, Hai Phong and Nam Dinh are rated as the leading group, while Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Quang Ninh need more time to close the gap in bench depth.

Hanoi's volleyball supporters expect the host team to hold on to the top position in the following season, although the gap between expectation and reality still needs to be tested across multiple tournaments.

(Reconstructed material based on Vietnamese sports press records of 2026.)