Türkiye get another shot against the only team to beat them in Chile, with USA taking an unblemished set record into the title match
Published 03:00, 16 Aug 2026
USA ended China’s reign as FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U17 world champions with a commanding straight-sets semifinal win on Saturday, while Türkiye swept Chinese Taipei to set up a second meeting between the two teams, this time with the title on the line.
USA defeated defending champions China 3-0 (25-13, 25-15, 25-19), extending a run that has taken them through the tournament without dropping a set.
Kari Knotts led the scoring with 19 points, including 18 attacks, while Maya Ogbogu added 15 points. Maija Mortensen finished with nine points and accounted for six of USA’s nine blocks. The numbers reflected USA’s control of the semifinal, with a 44-19 advantage in attack points and a 9-2 edge in blocks.
China, champions of the inaugural Girls’ U17 World Championship in 2024, struggled to find a way through the USA defense. Chen Ruihan led the defending champions with eight points as their title defense came to an end in Santiago.
Türkiye secured the other place in the final with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-22) victory over Chinese Taipei. After taking the opening set comfortably, Türkiye faced more resistance in the next two but closed out both to complete the sweep.
Zeynep Doğa Alpay led Türkiye with 15 points, followed by Nejla Guzonjic with 12 and Ecrin Selis Türkyaşar with 11. Türkiye’s blocking made a major difference, producing 17 points from the block while Chinese Taipei did not score from the skill. Guzonjic contributed six of those blocks.
The result gives Türkiye another opportunity against USA, the only team to defeat them at this World Championship. The two sides first met on the second day of Pool A, when USA won in straight sets. Since then, Türkiye have worked their way through the tournament to earn another meeting with their pool rivals, now for the championship.
USA and Türkiye will meet for the Girls’ U17 World Championship title on Sunday at 19:00 local time at National Stadium Park. China and Chinese Taipei will play for bronze at 16:00.
Meanwhile, the race for the remaining top eight positions saw Italy and Korea come through their classification matches in straight sets. Italy allowed Croatia just 40 points in a 3-0 (25-14, 25-18, 25-8) win, while Korea followed with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-11, 26-24) victory over Thailand to set up Sunday’s match for fifth place.
The day’s biggest individual performance came from Rayni Mondesi, who rewrote the tournament scoring record as the Dominican Republic survived a five-set battle with Argentina. Mondesi scored 45 points, including 42 in attack and three aces, in the 3-2 (25-21, 25-17, 17-25, 17-25, 17-15) victory.
The Dominican Republic had taken a two-set lead before Argentina forced a deciding fifth, where Mondesi and her teammates closed out the match 17-15. Poland joined them in the next round of the 9th-12th classification with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-19) win over Japan.
Venezuela and Peru advanced from the 13th-16th place playoffs by different routes. Venezuela held off the Philippines 3-1 (25-23, 25-20, 20-25, 25-22), while Peru recovered after dropping the second and third sets to defeat Czechia 3-2 (25-18, 19-25, 20-25, 25-17, 15-10).
Brazil finished 17th after recovering from an opening-set loss to beat Spain 3-1 (24-26, 25-17, 27-25, 25-16). Mexico claimed 19th with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-22) victory over Tunisia, Puerto Rico secured 21st by defeating hosts Chile 3-0 (25-10, 25-23, 25-13), and Egypt finished 23rd following a 3-0 (25-9, 25-16, 25-16) win over Algeria.
Sunday’s classification matches begin with Czechia and the Philippines playing for 15th place at 09:00, followed by Croatia and Thailand for seventh place at 10:00. Peru and Venezuela play for 13th place at 12:00, Italy and Korea for fifth place at 13:00, Argentina and Japan for 11th place at 15:00, and the Dominican Republic and Poland for ninth place at 18:00.
