Türkiye continue to make history at the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship and secured their first-ever podium appearance and final.They will take on a strong Italian team in the final.
Turkiye, the reigning European champions, started behind against Japan in the semifinals, but counted on a spectacular performance from star opposite Melissa Vargas to turn things around and triumph 3-1 (16-25, 25-17, 25-18, 27-25) at the Huamark Indoor Stadium, in Bangkok.
The first World Championship medal in Turkish volleyball history adds to the legacy of what’s already the country’s most talented and accomplished generation. The team led by head coach Daniele Santarelli won the Volleyball Nations League and the European Championship in 2023 and took the country to the semifinals of the Olympic Games for the first time in the following year in Paris.
Arguably the biggest name of her generation in the country, the 25-year-old Vargas was a difference-maker against the Japanese, delivering her strongest performance in her first World Championship appearance with Türkiye (she represented Cuba in 2014) and leaving the court with 28 points (26 kills, one block, one ace).
Captain Eda Erdem and Ebrar Karakurt also played major roles in the Turkish victory, with each of them contributing 13 points – the middle blocker registered nine kills and four blocks, while the outside hitter tallied 11 kills and two blocks.
“In the last two points, I was really sure we were going to win the match because we had made a great comeback and couldn’t lose after that,” setter Cansu Özbay reacted. “We always put our souls on the court, and we showed again who we are. I’m very proud of the team. It feels like a dream. I don’t think I can understand what we just achieved right now. But we’ll forget this match very soon and focus on the final.”
Türkiye’s blocking power ended up making the difference for the Europeans, who outscored the Asians in that category by 12 points to six. There was balance in the other areas of the game, with Türkiye leading in kills (58 to 55), Japan having the edge in aces (five to four) and each team producing 19 points in opponents’ errors.
On the Japanese side, opposite Yukiko Wada continued to play a very high level and was the team’s leading scorer in the semifinal duel against Türkiye, tallying 22 points (19 kills, two aces, one block). Star outside hitter and team captain Mayu Ishikawa came next, with 19 (17 kills, two aces).
“We lost the match today, but we still have a chance to get a medal,” Ishikawa remarked. “Unfortunately, at the end of the sets we couldn’t score the points we needed to win, and that’s an area where we need to improve for tomorrow.”
The Asians will try to return to the World Championship podium for the first time since 2010, when they won bronze, the most recent of their seven medals in the tournament.
Meanwhile, Italy’s historic winning streak nearly came to an end on Saturday at the hands of Brazil, but the reigning Olympic champions powered through at the end and extended it to 35 matches and advanced to the final.
The duel between the two best-placed teams in the FIVB World Ranking took place in front of 6,000 fans at the Huamark Indoor Stadium, in Bangkok, on Saturday, and had the Europeans coming out on top 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 28-30, 25-22, 15-13) to beat their South American rivals for the first time in World Championship history.
Undefeated since May 2024, the Italians will have the rare opportunity of standing out as the reigning Olympic, Volleyball Nations League and world champions at the same time. The Europeans are guaranteed their fourth medal at the World Championship, having won gold in 2002, silver in 2018 and bronze in 2022.
Subersub Ekaterina Antropova was huge for Italy, coming off the bench during the first set to replace star opposite Paola Egonu and delivering a team-high 28-point performance, with 20 kills, six blocks and two aces.
“We feel great,” Antropova said. “I’m very happy that we could pull it out at the end. It was an incredible match, fun to watch and to play. It was so hard and just as we expected. I’m proud of the team. We didn’t always show our best game, but still managed to stay there. Brazil did an incredible job, and we could tell they were pouring their hearts into the court. Now we need to recover as fast as we can, because we have another final to play.”
Outside hitter Myriam Sylla also came up big for the Italians, leaving the court with 21 points (19 kills, two blocks) to her name. Egonu, who came back in the tie-breaker to close the match, got to 11, with ten kills and one ace.
Brazilian star captain Gabriela ‘Gabi’ Guimarães was the match’s top scorer, with 29 points (27 kills, two blocks). Opposite Rosamaria Montibeller came next with 20 (19 kills, one ace), while middle blockers Diana Alecrim and Júlia Kudiess added 15 and 14, respectively.
“It’s difficult to lose a match like this, we know it was about the small details,” Gabi reacted. “I made a few mistakes in the tie-breaker, and I wish I could have helped the team a little bit more. I’m really proud of the team, we fought a lot. Italy are an amazing team and they deserve to be in the final. They used many different players today and played very well under pressure. Now we focus on the third-place match, because it’s very important for us to return home with a medal.”
Blocking was a big factor for both sides, as while the Brazilians produced an impressive 22 points in that category, the Italians also did well, registering 15. With each team tallying 69 points in kills and Italy leading in aces by four to two, Brazil’s higher number of errors (27 to 19) was probably what costed them the match.
