[Anchor]
The South Korean national team is showing remarkable momentum at the FIVB Volleyball Girls' U17 World Championship. Son Seo-yeon, often dubbed the "little Kim Yeon-koung," and Eom Min-seo combined for 40 points to defeat European powerhouse Italy and race to a thrilling third consecutive victory.
Reporter Jeon Yeongmin has the story.
[Reporter]
In the match against Italy, which effectively served as a battle for first place in Group D with both teams entering at 2-0, South Korea took control early on.
Eom Min-seo opened the scoring.
After lifting the team's spirits with a lucky service ace followed by a lively celebration, she successfully seized the initiative by hammering down successive spikes.
Main attacker Son Seo-yeon then took over the baton.
She kept the momentum going by scoring six points in the second set alone, featuring high-point spikes and quick attacks that shook the opponent's defense.
Although South Korea dropped the third set to Italy's counterattack, the triangular tandem of Son Seo-yeon, Eom Min-seo, and Jang Su-in rallied back.
Attacking relentlessly from both left and right, they drove spikes home and shattered the opposing defense with catches-off-guard plays.
When Son Seo-yeon put an end to the match with a powerful spike, the players joined hands and spun around to savor the joy of victory.
With Son Seo-yeon scoring a match-high 23 points and Eom Min-seo adding 17 for a combined 40 points, the national team defeated Italy 3-1 to claim top place in the group with three straight wins, virtually securing a ticket to the Round of 16, which is awarded to the top four teams.
[Jang Su-in / U17 Women's Volleyball National Team: We've achieved a joyful three-game winning streak, and I'm so grateful to my teammates. We will win all our remaining matches as well and return to South Korea with great results.]
Our national team will eye its fourth consecutive win tomorrow (August 11) against the Dominican Republic.
(Video Editing: Lee Jae-seong, Footage Provided by: ENA Sports SOOP)
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