Quarterfinals Against Türkiye Tomorrow: "Relieving Tension with Celebrations"

[Anchor]

Our national team, riding a six-game winning streak at the FIVB Volleyball Girls' U17 World Championship, will face Türkiye tomorrow (August 15) in the quarterfinals. Although the opponent is a strong favorite to win, our "volleyball girls" are determined to play without regrets while easing their tension through cheerful celebrations once again.

Reporter Pyeon Gwanghyeon has the story.

[Reporter]

They jump up together to shoot a "love bullet" and form a circle to celebrate their teammate's performance with a traditional Ganggangsullae dance.

There is a reason why the celebrations of the "volleyball girls" have become more lively and diverse, even featuring a "snapshot" gesture as if saving the moment in their hearts.

[Sohn Seo-yeon / U-17 Women's National Volleyball Team: It really helps relieve tension, and since we can't play volleyball while doing these celebrations anytime else, I think we're just enjoying it.]

[Jang Su-in / U-17 Women's National Volleyball Team: Since we are U-17 and still young, we want to show a cuter side while also boosting our fighting spirit...]

Jang Su-in, the mood maker who leads the celebrations and the team's utility player who handles the dirty work while ranking first in digs and receptions within the team, vows to play a "salt-like, essential role" in tomorrow's quarterfinals as well.

[Jang Su-in / U-17 Women's National Volleyball Team: They expect a lot of fast-paced plays and plays that dive into gaps, and (I plan) to focus more on supporting from behind even if attacks fail at the front.]

Our opponent in the quarterfinals is the powerhouse Türkiye, whose average height is 7 cm taller than ours.

Three starting attackers in their mid-180 cm range unleash high-point attacks, while a middle blocker lineup with a maximum height of 189 cm completely shut down the attacks of Japan, a team of similar height to ours, in the Round of 16.

However, our team is full of confidence, having secured six consecutive wins including a victory over another title favorite, Italy, in the group stage.

They are determined to proudly go toe-to-toe with Türkiye using their signature teamwork and speed.

[Sohn Seo-yeon / U-17 Women's National Volleyball Team: We've made it to the quarterfinals, and I think we should go all the way to the semifinals and the final.]

(Video Editing: Hwang Ji-young, Design: Lee So-jeong)

※