USA sweep U17 girls’ final to snatch world title

The United States triumphed at the 2026 FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U17 World Championship in Chile. The power of a strong high school and college sports program in the USA was put on display during Sunday’s final, which they won in convincing straight sets. Following the Volleyball Nations League victory of one of the world’s most powerful women’s national teams earlier this year, the Turkish selection in Santiago showed that a new generation of athletes and fans, inspired by the success of the senior team, is on its way by claiming the U17 world silver. The power of Asian volleyball produced a match-up between two teams from the continent for the third place, with major powerhouse China taking the bronze after coming back from a set down against Chinese Taipei, which continues to serve as a great example of a small federation making solid progress in the sport.

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Sunday’s gold medal showdown at the National Stadium Park in the Chilean capital attracted well over two thousand fans to the stands. The American team delivered a 3-0 (25-23, 25-11, 25-23) victory over a spirited Turkish squad that kept the fire burning on the court, especially in sets one and three that could have gone either way.

While Turkiye tried to capitalize on the abundant unforced errors by the opponents (21 against only nine from the CEV team), USA outplayed their rivals on all scoring counts – 45-24 in spike kills, 9-4 in serving aces and 12-8 in kill blocks. 15-year-old opposite Kari Knotts was by far the best scorer of the match. Her match-high tally of 23 points included four aces and two kill blocks. Meanwhile, outside hitter Maya Ogbogu registered an impressive 78% success rate in attack and added two aces and two stuffs to her tally to finish with 18 points. Two players on the Turkish squads reached the double digits in scoring with 10 points apiece. Opposite Cagla Caglayandere’s record included seven successful swings, two blocks and an ace, while outside Zeynep Doga Alpay put away nine points in offense and one in net defense.

Two teams that made the final four at the inaugural edition of the U17 World Championship two years ago – China and Chinese Taipei – did it for a second time in a row at this year’s second edition of the competition. Defending champions China settled for bronze this time, after winning the third-place playoff against Chinese Taipei in four sets, 3-1 (26-28, 25-15, 25-19, 25-22). Chinese Taipei matched their result from 2024 and once again finished in fourth place.

Showing some prolific serving, China fired as many as 13 aces during the match, while also dominating with their solid blocking effort. 15-year-old outside Ren Sichen produced four direct points from the serving line, in addition to three kill blocks to finish with 15 points. Her cross-court teammate Chen Ruihan, also 15 years old, and opposite Zhang Yijia chipped in with three aces each to finish as the team’s best scorers on 16 points apiece. China’s middle blockers Zhao Yuhan and 15-year-old Chen Xinyi also reached the double digits with 14 and 10 points, respectively. Chinese Taipei’s opposite Chang Yun-Chen and outside hitter Chen Ting-Yi shared the top scorer honors of the match with 19 points each. The other outside – Chan Tzu-Yun – added 15 points.

Italy took fifth place after a 3-1 (25-20, 24-26, 25-20, 25-14) win over Korea, leaving the Asian team sixth in the final standings. Thailand celebrated a 3-0 (25-21, 25-10, 26-24) shutout of Croatia to claim seventh place.

Following all the rest of the classification finals on Sunday, Poland, the Dominican Republic, Japan, Argentina, Peru, Venezuela, the Philippines, Czechia, Brazil, Spain, Mexico, Tunisia, Puerto Rico, Chile, Egypt and Algeria, in that order, lined up in the places from ninth to 24^th in the final standings.

Quick links:
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