Japan on to the quarterfinals after second victory in Tianjin

Ranked sixth in the FIVB World Ranking, Japan are the first team to qualify for the quarterfinals of the 2026 AVC Women's Volleyball Asian Championship after they earned their second victory in the tournament on Sunday.

Strong candidates to claim the spot at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and one of the three berths at the 2027 FIVB Volleyball World Cup awarded in the tournament, they overcame continental rivals Korea to become the first team to get to two wins in the event held in Tianjin, China.

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

After a very competitive first set, the Japanese took control of the match and dominated the Koreans to secure the 3-0 (33-31, 25-19, 25-20) victory that confirmed their presence in the quarterfinals.

The triumph took Japan to two wins and six points in Pool C, ensuring they will end pool play ahead of Korea (one win, three points) and the losers of Monday's match between Vietnam and Hong Kong, both of whom have no wins or points.

With the three pool winners, the three pool runners-up, and the two best third-placed teams progressing to the elimination rounds, the Japanese are guaranteed to advance because they cannot finish lower than second in their pool.

Opposite Yukiko Wada was the top scorer in the Japanese victory with 19 points (15 kills, two blocks, two aces), one more than outside hitter Yoshino Sato, who registered 16 kills and two blocks. Opposite Na Hyunsoo scored 15 points (12 kills, two aces, one block) for Korea.

"Korea are a really good team, and beating teams of this level means a lot to us," middle blocker Airi Miyabe said. "We need to take the good stuff we did in this game, but we also know we can do better and that we have to learn from what didn't go so well."

Kazakhstan and Chinese Taipei earn first victories

The other two pools of the tournament now have triple ties in the standings after Kazakhstan and Chinese Taipei secured their first victories in Tianjin.

In Pool B, Kazakhstan swept Australia 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-21) to earn their first three points in the event and catch Thailand and Indonesia, who play on Monday.

Opposite Tatyana Nikitina pushed her team to victory with a 20-point (14 kills, three blocks, three aces) performance, while Australian opposite Ella Milne scored 12 (nine kills, two blocks, one ace) for her side.

In Pool A, Chinese Taipei joined the race with China and Iran after taking Iraq down 3-0 (25-5, 25-8, 25-11) to earn their first victory in the tournament - the three teams now have one win and three points.

Middle blocker Kan Ko-Hui and opposite Chang Yi-Chi each scored 14 points for the winning side, while middle blocker Doreem Shamow registered six for Iraq.

AVC Women's Volleyball Asian Championship: schedule and results

Pool play continues on Monday in Tianjin with another triple-header - Vietnam and Hong Kong play at 10:00 local time (2:00 UTC) in Pool C, Thailand and Indonesia meet at 15:00 (7:00 UTC) in Pool B and hosts China face Iran at 19:30 (11:30 UTC) in Pool A.

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