The Cambodian Volleyball Federation (CVF) has identified a major weakness in the national side and has begun encouraging the Kingdom’s clubs to invest more time and energy in training setters — the essential playmakers — for the national team. This is especially necessary as the squad currently lacks their No. 1 setter, Soun Channaro.
During an August 15 meeting with representatives from 32 clubs from across the Kingdom, CVF secretary-general Aing Serey Piseth warned that Cambodia’s current setters — Keo Srenglyhour and Yun Khemrak, who played in the SEA V.League 2025 — are still not yet at 50% of Channaro’s level.
“Personally, I don’t believe our young setters are 45% as skilled as Channaro. We keep telling them it’s 70% or 80%, but honestly, their actual performance hasn’t reached that,” he said.
He urged all 32 member clubs to help the federation nurture more setters, emphasising that a setter is like the brain of the team. The success or failure of each match heavily depends on them.
“I’ve advised all clubs that our federation must place great importance on developing setters because in volleyball, a setter is like the brain. The attackers and defenders are like arms and legs. If the brain is smart, the body becomes powerful — and volleyball is no different,” he explained.
“A setter is extremely important — the outcome of a match can depend up to 80–90% on them. Even if we have great attackers, without a smart, well-timed setter, we can’t score points,” he added.
Reminding the clubs of Cambodia’s tough experience in the SEA V.League 2025, Piseth pointed out that despite having good spikers, using young or inexperienced setters led to inconsistent performances. As a result, the national team lost all eight matches.
“From actual experience in the SEA V.League, we used setters aged 19–20. Firstly, they lacked composure on the court; secondly, their tactical decision-making wasn’t yet polished. That’s why I’m encouraging all clubs to rethink how they develop setters,” he said.
“Attackers are easy to find, but setters are rare — and if a setter is neither intelligent nor quick with their sets, it’s tough to break through the opponents’ blocks,” he continued.
To strengthen this position, the federation has recalled Channaro — who announced his retirement in October 2024 — to return to national team training. He has been included in the potential squad list for the upcoming 33rd SEA Games in Thailand this December. However, it’s still undecided whether he will make the final roster.
“We’ve reached an agreement for Channaro to rejoin national team training, and if his performance is strong, he will be invited to represent the national team as well,” said Piseth.
“Although Channaro has been called back to join our training camp, he’s not yet officially a national team player. None of the more than 30 players in the training group are until the final list is announced,” he added.
