Rayco leads Alas Pilipinas girls’ opening win over Iran at AVC U18

Alas Pilipinas girls huddle during a game against Iran in the AVC Asian Women’s U18 Volleyball Championship in Thailand.–AVC PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Alas Pilipinas girls kicked off their AVC Asian Women’s U18 Volleyball Championship bid with a 25-19, 19-25, 25-23, 25-18 win over Iran on Wednesday at Terminal 21 in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.

Xyz Rayco continued to dazzle as the team’s main gunner with 19 points as Alas captured its first win in Pool C.

Rayco, who led Alas to a FIVB U17 World Championship qualification in Santiago this August after powering her team to a fifth-place finish in last year’s AVC U16 in Jordan, scattered 14 kills, three blocks, and two aces. 

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Alas Pilipinas girls’ Xyz Rayco shines in a victory over Iran in the AVC Asian Women’s U18 Volleyball Championship in Thailand.–AVC PHOTO

Besides Rayco, Ella Gonzalvo also shone with 15 points from 12 spikes and three aces.

Gonzalvo emerged as the Best Outside Spiker in the 2026 Southeast Asian Girls’ U18 Volleyball Championship last Sunday after leading Alas to a bronze medal finish, outlasting Indonesia, 27-25, 27-29, 18-25, 25-22, 15-11. 

Jhaynna Love Bulandres and Adeleine Terese Agustin also stepped up with nine points each for the National University Nazareth School-bannered national team under coach Karl Dimaculangan.

READ: Xyz Rayco shines brightest as Alas Pilipinas girls make history

Alas takes an early 1-0 lead in its group, where only the top two squads will advance to the quarterfinal.

The Philippines takes on last year’s runner-up Japan on Thursday at 11 a.m. before wrapping up its pool stage campaign against Indonesia on Friday afternoon.

Sana Naghipour led Iran with 15 points, while Setayesh Nasr Esfahani added 11.