Taiwan's U16 women miss Asian volleyball title

Taipei, Nov. 9 (CNA) Taiwan's U16 women's volleyball on Saturday fell short of the champion title and finished with a silver medal after losing to the South Korean team at the Asian Women's U16 Volleyball Championship in Jordan.

Prevailing against China in the semifinals, Taiwan's team advanced to the championship game, its best performance to date.

After a neck-and-neck first set ending in a 28-26 win, the Chinese Taipei team unfortunately lost the following two sets 21-25 and 11-25.

In the third set, Team Taiwan leveled the match with a 25-19 win, but ultimately lost in the deciding set by 13-15.

Their coach, Hou Ya-hui (侯雅惠), told CNA that she was proud of her athletes for putting up a strong fight despite them being shorter than the Chinese and South Korean players.

She gathered up the team members, who burst into tears after losing, to encourage them, saying "you are really great."

"I [told them] there is nothing to cry about," Hou told CNA. "Even if we fell short by a little, everyone gave their best performance. I also encouraged them to get even in the U17 games next year."

Chen Ting-yi (陳亭伊), the team's key player at just age 15, contributed to multiple victories, Hou said, adding that with some guidance, Chen gradually gained stability and confidence.