Taiwan's under-17 women's volleyball team lost its World Championship semifinal to a much taller Turkey side and will now play China for third place — a tough result, but a strong run for the young squad.

• Taiwan lost the semifinal in straight sets, ending its shot at the title.
• Turkey's height gave it a huge edge at the net, blocking Taiwan repeatedly while giving up almost nothing there.
• Taiwan stayed close and even led at points in the second and third sets, but rushed and lost focus late in each set.
• The plan against Turkey was to get a touch on blocks and change the ball's path to buy time for the back-row defense, which helped somewhat.
• The team sees room to break through taller opponents by using speed and varied attacks to force errors and find gaps.

Outlook: Taiwan faces another tall team, China, in Sunday's bronze-medal match, aiming to reach the U17 podium.