Na powers South Korea past Australia to complete AVC semifinals lineup

South Korea women's national Volleyball team secured its place in the semifinals of the 2026 AVC Women’s Volleyball Cup with a convincing straight-sets victory over Australia women's national volleyball team, 25–18, 25–15, 25–19, on Thursday night at the Candon City Arena in Ilocos Sur.

The win finalized the semifinal field and set up a high-stakes showdown for Pool A leadership, as South Korea joined Chinese Taipei women's national volleyball team at the top of the standings with identical 4–0 records after the latter eliminated host Alas Pilipinas women's volleyball team earlier in the day.

South Korea and Chinese Taipei will now battle for the Pool A top seed on Friday at 9 p.m.

Na Hyunsoo led a balanced Korean offense with 10 points, while Park Eunjin contributed nine. Jeong Yunju and captain Kang Sohwi added seven points each in a well-distributed scoring effort.

South Korea controlled the match statistically, outscoring Australia in attacks 35–27 and capitalizing on 23 opponent errors while limiting their own mistakes to just 10 across a one-hour and 10-minute contest.

For Australia, Anni Tang led the way with 12 points from five attacks, four blocks, and three aces, but her efforts were not enough as the team dropped to 2–2.

Elsewhere in the competition, defending champion Vietnam and Kazakhstan also booked semifinal spots with commanding performances earlier in the day.

Vietnam women's national volleyball team improved to 4–0 after a 25–11, 25–19, 25–14 win over Lebanon, while Kazakhstan women's national volleyball team edged Iran in a tight 25–19, 25–20, 27–25 battle in Pool B.

Vietnam and Kazakhstan will now contest the top spot in Pool B on Friday at 9 a.m.

Trần Thị Thanh Thúy starred with 21 points to lead Vietnam, while Shantelle Marie Demirjian paced Lebanon with 13 points in another winless outing.

For Kazakhstan, Ekaterina Mikhailova scored 14 points and Dinara Razakberlina added 10 to maintain their strong run in the tournament.

In other Pool A action, Uzbekistan women's national volleyball team finally earned its first victory, sweeping Kyrgyzstan women's national volleyball team, 25–20, 25–13, 25–19, in a matchup between winless sides.