Two rounds and one place remaining
Three of the four semifinal positions at Vietnam's 2026 women's national volleyball championship had been secured after 12 rounds, according to the report. HCĐG Lào Cai, Hà Nội and VTV Bình Điền Long An were through, leaving LPBank Ninh Bình and Binh Chủng Thông Tin competing for the final place.
Binh Chủng Thông Tin stood fourth with seven wins and 24 points. Ninh Bình followed with six wins and 19 points. The distinction matters because the competition ranks teams by victories first and points second, rather than sorting solely by points.
The two sides meet directly in round 13 on October 21. A Binh Chủng Thông Tin victory would secure the remaining top-four berth. Ninh Bình must win to draw level on seven victories and preserve its chance.
Why the final round could still matter
Even a 3-0 or 3-1 win earning the maximum three points would take Ninh Bình only to 22 points, still below its rival's existing 24. In that situation the October 22 fixtures would determine the final outcome. Ninh Bình faces Vietinbank, while Binh Chủng Thông Tin plays VTV Bình Điền Long An.
The article's expectations about those matches are scenarios, not completed results. Ninh Bình had not been eliminated at publication, and the decisive head-to-head game had not yet been played.
Elsewhere, already-qualified teams were managing workloads under a dense schedule. The lower four teams would still enter another classification phase, so the group standings alone did not establish the final relegation outcome.