AMMAN, Jordan — The Philippines booked a historic ticket to the 2026 FIVB Volleyball Girls’ U17 World Championship after defeating Thailand, 25-23, 25-20, 19-25, 25-22, to secure fifth place in the 2nd AVC Asian Women’s U16 Volleyball Championship on Saturday at the Prince Hamzah Sports Hall.
Team captain Xyz Rayco capped her international debut with 30 points on 25 kills, four blocks and an ace, leading the youngest Philippine national volleyball squad to its best-ever finish and a berth in next year’s worlds in Chile.
The Philippines clinched the final Asian spot as China had already qualified as the defending world champion even before reaching the Final Four. Other qualified Asian teams include Korea, Chinese Taipei and Japan.
“That’s really the icing on the cake,” said Alas U16 coach Edwin Leyva. “We only had two weeks to prepare, and at first, we were just a ragtag team. But we took it one set at a time, and now our dream came true.”
Nadeth Herbon backed Rayco with 16 points, while middle blocker Madele Gale added 11, including five blocks.
Thailand finished sixth, led by Natacha Thongkham with 18 points and Chamikon Cankawe with 13.
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan earned the seventh place after staving off Hong Kong, China, 25-12, 25-23, 15-25, 25-18.
Saodat Egamberdieva led the Uzbeks’ balanced attack with 16 points. Robiyakhon Tursunalieva also stepped up for a decent seventh-place finish with 15 points, while Farangiz Yunusova and Ugiloy Abduvalieva added 14 and 13, respectively.
Over at Princess Sumaya Hall, Kazakhstan finished 9th after sweeping Iran, 25-18, 25-17, 25-18.
Margarita Vagner and Aisha Mukhamadiyeva finished strong for the Kazakhs with 16 points each.
Australia took 11th place with a 25-14, 25-14, 25-15 rout of host Jordan. Ellie Turner and Jorja Grocott powered the team with nine and eight points, respectively.
India ended its campaign with a 25-12, 25-7, 25-10 sweep of Qatar for a 13th-place finish after Devaki Amit Rawat delivered 18 points.