OFFICIAL: Ninh Bình Women's Volleyball Team Becomes Former Champion of the Hung Vuong Cup

The Hung Vuong Cup has not yet commenced, but LPB Ninh Bình definitely no longer has the opportunity to defend its championship title here.

The LPB Ninh Bình women's volleyball team has lost the opportunity to defend its Hung Vuong Cup championship title - this year's tournament will take place in Phú Thọ from April 23rd to April 26th. This event is part of the activities during the Hung Kings' Commemoration Festival and the Ancestral Land Culture-Tourism Week in 2026.

Although the tournament will not start for nearly another week, the fate of the reigning champion LPB Ninh Bình has already been decided early. According to regulations, the top 4 teams in the rankings of the first round of the 2026 National Volleyball Championship for Clubs will secure spots to participate in the Hung Vuong Cup, and the chance for Nguyễn Thị Uyên and her teammates to be among the top 4 strongest teams is a flat zero.

Most recently, on the afternoon of April 17th, LPB Ninh Bình suffered a 0-3 defeat against Thông tin-Đông Bắc. Currently, the reigning runner-up of the National Championship only has a record of 2 wins-4 losses with 7 points and a very low differential. Even if they defeat VietinBank in the final match on April 19th, Coach Thái Thanh Tùng and his team will not have enough points to squeeze into the top 4.

LPB Ninh Bình faced considerable difficulties and could not overcome the challenge to secure a ticket to this year's Hung Vuong Cup. Before the National Championship started, the team no longer had the services of Lê Thanh Thúy (transferred to Hanoi Tasco Auto), libero Nguyễn Thị Kim Liên (transferred to XMLS Thanh Hóa), and setter Nguyễn Thị Hoài Mi (transferred to TPHCM).

Additionally, two key players Nguyễn Thị Bích Tuyền and Nguyễn Thị Trinh also did not compete with Ninh Bình in the first stage of the 2026 season due to various reasons. The team also added foreign player Wang Yizhu and national team attacker Nguyễn Thị Uyên - who was immediately elected captain along with other new recruits, but the efforts of Nguyễn Uyên and Wang were insufficient to help the ancient capital's team achieve success.

Some clubs that have already secured spots for the 2026 Hung Vuong Cup up to now are Hanoi Tasco Auto, HCĐG Lào Cai (women's), and Border Guard, TPHCM Police (men's).

In the three most recent seasons of the Hung Vuong Cup, LPB Ninh Bình reached the finals each time. They became runners-up in 2023 (lost to HCĐG Lào Cai) and 2024 (lost to VTV Bình Điền Long An) before clinching the championship in the 2025 season with a victory over Thông tin-Đông Bắc.