By MARK REY MONTEJO
CANDON CITY – Try and try until you succeed.
Chinese Taipei used that formula and finally broke through the final after giving Kazakhstan a reality check with a 25-23, 25-16, 25-14 victory in the semis round of the 2026 AVC Women’s Volleyball Cup here at the Candon City Arena Saturday, June 13.
In front of thousands of local fans here, the Taiwanese survived a big scare after wasting a 23-17 advantage but Yi-Chi Chang rose to the occasion and doused the fiery run.
That sequence turned out to be some sort of a spell as Kazakhstan struggled on both sides, failing to keep up with Taipei’s early surge in the next two frames, resulting in the Yi-Jen Liao-captained squad going into its maiden title shot in the continental showpiece.
Taipei also spoiled Kazakhstan’s five-set escape against reigning champion Vietnam the day prior.
Taipei either faces South Korea or the four-peat targeting Vietnam, which is currently battling in the semis as of writing, in the finale. Kazakhstan, for its part, faces the loser in the other semis pairing for the bronze.
Despite yielding a five-set loss to South Korea less than a day earlier, Chinese Taipei found ways to impose its will, getting closer to its first gold since joining the competition, which was presented by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the City of Candon led by Mayor Eric D. Singson, in 2023.
“We’re very happy and it’s [the] first time [that] we’re going to the final,” said Liao. “I’m really excited [and in] this game, I think everybody, and Chang played well.”
Chinese Taipei, which won two bronze medals in two editions while settling for 7th in 2024, might achieve its women’s volleyball program’s highest honor – in terms of medal – as it only had three bronzes in the Asian Games and the Asian Nations Cup.
Yu-Chun Tsai paced the Taiwanese with 18 points on 17 attacks and one ace, while Chang added 14 points off 10 spikes, one block, and three aces. Wan-Yun Hsu and Yu-Wen Yeh combined for 13 points.
Tatyana Yatskiv and Belova listed 12 and 10 points, respectively, in a losing effort.
