Türkiye wins the European Women's Volleyball Championship, defeating Italy 3-2

After a fairly even start, the Italians gained an eight-point advantage (17:9) within a few minutes with a score of 10:8. After such a show of strength from coach Julio Velasco's team, it seemed that the fight for the gold medal would not last too long. All the more so because for long periods of the second game Italia continued to dominate, leading, among others, 12:8.

However, among the locals, Melissa Vargas and Darya Cebecioglu, introduced in the second set, really got going. The Turkish women took advantage of their opponents' downtime and won 25:22 to draw.

In the next set, the Italians quickly gained a several-point advantage, and after two consecutive service aces by Ekaterina Antropova, it increased to 11 points (19:8), and the game ended with the score 25:12.

After a few minutes of break, the hosts started with a strong start (6:1 and 14:7). The Olympic champions began to close the gap, they were only losing 16:17 and it looked like it would be an exciting end, but it didn't happen. 25:21 for Turkey.

In the tie-break, 39-year-old Turkish center Eda Erdem Dundar, who appeared in the European Championship for the 10th time, scored points in attack and blocking. The Turkish women quickly outscored their rivals by a few points and did not squander the advance.

The organizers chose the tournament's dream team. The MVP was Vargas, who also received the best attacker award. Also recognized were setter Alessia Orro (Italy), receivers Cebecioglu (Turkey), Miriam Sylla (Italy), center Hena Kurtagić (Serbia), Zehra Gunes (Turkey) and libero Gizem Orge (Turkey).

By winning the European Championships, Türkiye also secured qualification for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.

The Turkish women also triumphed three years ago in Brussels - then, also after a tie-break, they won against the Serbians.

The White and Reds finished the next European Championships off the podium. They won their last medal, bronze, 17 years ago in Łódź.

Türkiye – Italy 3:2 (16:25, 25:22, 12:25, 25:21, 15:10).

Turkey: Elif Sahin, Melissa Vargas, Zehra Gunes, Eda Erdem Dundar, Hande Baladin, Ilkin Aydin – Gizem Orge (libero) – Eylul Akarcesme Yatgin, Saliha Sahin, Yaprak Erkek, Cansu Ozbay, Derya Cebecioglu.