South Korea's under-17 (U-17) women's volleyball national team wrapped up their 2026 International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) World Championship campaign in sixth place.

Coached by Lee Seung-yeo, South Korea lost 1-3 to Italy in the fifth-place playoff held today (the 17th) at the Park Court of the National Stadium in Santiago, Chile.

South Korea, who earned their tournament berth by winning the 2025 Asian U-16 Women's Volleyball Championship, advanced through the group stage with a perfect 5-0 record.

They defeated the Philippines in the round of 16, but their bid for the semifinals fell through after a loss to Türkiye in the quarterfinals.

After defeating Thailand in the 5th-8th place classification matches, South Korea faced Italy once again—whom they had beaten in the group stage—and suffered a defeat in the fifth-place match to finish the tournament in sixth.

After dropping the first set, South Korea claimed a hard-fought 26-24 victory in a deuce battle in the second set to level the match.

However, they conceded the third and fourth sets consecutively to conclude the tournament.

Captain Son Seo-yeon (Sunmyung Girls' High School) led the team with a match-high 20 points, including three blocks, while Jang Su-in (Kyungnam Girls' High School) added 12 points and Lee Da-yeon (Joongang Girls' High School) contributed 8 points.

Son Seo-yeon, dubbed the "Little Kim Yeon-koung," recorded a total of 179 points in this tournament and is currently tied for second place in scoring alongside Sofia Emilia Vald (Argentina) as of today.

(Photo: Capture from FIVB official website, Yonhap News)