▲ South Korea's U-17 Girls' Volleyball Team Sweeps Past Italy
South Korea's under-17 (U-17) girls' volleyball team has secured its third consecutive victory at the World Championship.
In the third match of Group D in the preliminary round of the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) U-17 Girls' World Championship held in Los Andes, Chile today (August 9), the national team defeated Italy with a set score of 3-1 (25-14, 25-19, 13-25, 25-20).
Having achieved consecutive victories against Puerto Rico, Taiwan, and Italy, South Korea has risen to the top of the group with 9 points.
In this tournament, 24 teams are divided into four groups of six for the preliminary round, with the top four teams from each group advancing to the round of 16.
Having qualified for the U-17 World Championship for the first time by winning last year's U-16 Asian Championship, the girls' volleyball team has raised expectations by displaying consistent performances, dropping only one set in each of their three consecutive matches.
After easily taking the first and second sets, South Korea conceded the third set to Italy after falling behind early. However, the team regrouped in the fourth set and widened the gap in the latter stages to secure the victory.
Although South Korea fell significantly behind Italy in blocks with 7 to 16, they maintained their upward momentum as Italy self-destructed by committing 28 unforced errors, four times more than South Korea.
Outside hitter Sohn Seo-yeon from Sunmyung Girls' High School, often called the "Little Kim Yeon-koung," spearheaded the offense with 23 points, including two blocks and one service ace.
Eom Min-seo from Hanbom High School also contributed 17 points, powered by four service aces, leading the team to victory alongside Sohn.
South Korea will wrap up the group stage with matches against the Dominican Republic the day after tomorrow (August 11) and Algeria on August 12.
(Photo courtesy of the International Volleyball Federation, Yonhap News)
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