Australia and Korea on to Asian Champs semis

Australia and Korea won the first two quarterfinals at the AVC Men's Volleyball Asian Championship and advanced to Saturday’s semifinals. This way, each of them is now one win away from the podium and from qualifying for the 2027 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Cup and two wins away from the Asian title and the continental ticket to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games men’s volleyball event. On Thursday in Fukuoka, Australia beat Thailand in straight sets, while Korea overcame China’s resistance in a hard-fought four-setter. The tournament is streamed live and on demand on VBTV.

• Watch the AVC Men's Volleyball Asian Championship on VBTV

In the first quarterfinal in Japan, Australia managed a tough 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-19) shutout of Thailand, outplaying the opponents mostly in net defense by 10-4 in kill blocks. Outside hitter Lorenzo Pope was the top scorer of the match. He contributed a match-high 17 points, spiking at a 56% success rate and adding two kill blocks and an ace. Opposite Lincoln Alexander Williams chipped in with another 15 points, including two aces and a block. Three Thai players reached the double digits in their team’s last match in Fukuoka, led by outside Thanat Bamrungphakdi with 15 points, all in swings. Opposite Napadet Bhinijdee fired three aces to finish with a total of 13 points, while outside Chaiwat Thungkham signed off with 12 points, including one ace and one kill block.

In the second quarterfinal, Korea came back from a set down to close their victory over China in the overtime of the fourth set. Opposite Donghyeok Im (two kill blocks and an ace) and outside hitter Subong Heo (one ace) shared the match top scorer honors with 21 points apiece towards their team’s 3-1 (17-25, 25-21, 25-22, 29-27) win. Middle blocker Sanghyeon Lee and outside Sungjin Lim added 14 and 11 points, respectively. Middle Li Yongzhen was China’s best player of the match. He raised three of the team’s 17 kill blocks and spiked at an 81% success rate to lead the team together with outside Wang Bin on 16 points each. Opposite Wen Zihua finished with 13 points.

The other two quarterfinals will be played on Friday: Iran against Chinese Taipei at 15:30 local time (06:30 UTC), and Japan against India at 19:30 (10:30).

AVC Men's Volleyball Asian Championship: schedule and results

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