National Women's Volleyball Team; They faced Italy in the final of the 2026 CEV Women's European Volleyball Championship.
Winning the match 3-2, the Sultans of the Net became European Champions for the second time in a row.
Beating Italy 3-2 in the final, the National Women's Volleyball Team won the European Championship for the second time in a row. The Crescent and Stars team reached the top of Europe in 2023 and won their first championship. This year, he won the gold medal in the tournament he hosted.
A National Team won the silver medal in the finals it played in 2003 and 2019. Nationals won bronze medals in the European Championship in 2011, 2017 and 2021.
Türkiye's historic victory against Italy was widely covered in the European press.
Tuttosport: "Velasco's Italy surrendered to super Turkey in the final"
"The Italians took the lead twice, but with the support of 17 thousand fans filling the Sinan Erdem Sports Hall in Istanbul, Vargas and his friends took the stage in the last two sets and Turkey defeated Italy 3-2 (25-16, 22-25, 25-12, 21-25, 10-15) and maintained its place at the top of Europe."
Eureflect: Türkiye defended its crown against Italy! Turkey defeated Italy 3-2 despite falling behind twice in the exciting final match played at the Sinan Erdem Sports Hall in Istanbul; Melissa Vargas scored 28 points.
La Gazette dello Sport: "Italy lost to Türkiye in the European Championship final
Italy women's national volleyball team lost 3-2 in the tie-break set to host Türkiye in the European Championship final. Thus, while Olympic and world champion Italy missed the opportunity to make a treble with the European championship, Türkiye came to the top of Europe for the second time in a row.
Türkiye won the match, which was played in Istanbul and witnessed great excitement, with sets of 25-16, 22-25, 25-12, 21-25 and 15-10. While both teams showed ups and downs throughout the match, Italy could not take advantage of the opportunities it had despite having the upper hand for a significant part of the match. His inability to maintain the advantage he gained, especially in the second set, was one of the moments that changed the course of the match.
Türkiye, which started the deciding set better, gained an early lead with Antropova's mistake. Maintaining its superiority until the end of the match, Türkiye won the tie-break 15-10 and won the match 3-2. With this result, Türkiye became the European champion for the second time in a row. Santarelli's students also finished the European Championship at the top after winning the Nations League in the summer.
"While Türkiye will have the right to participate in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics with this championship, Italy will have to fight for a quota for the Olympic ticket through the 2027 World Championship or its rank in the world rankings."
Corriere dello Sport: "Italy surrenders in tie-break, Türkiye is European champion
Italy, which first went ahead 1-0 and then 2-1, fell in the later part of the match. With the support of 17 thousand fans at the Sinan Erdem Sports Hall in Istanbul, Santarelli's students maintained their place at the top of Europe by winning the match 3-2 (16-25, 25-22, 12-25, 25-21, 15-10).
In the highly competitive final, Italy performed almost flawlessly in the first three sets. However, Türkiye, led by Vargas, made a great comeback, leaving behind the heavy 25-12 defeat, especially in the third set, and defended the European championship by winning 15-10 in the tie-break set. After the victory, accompanied by the great enthusiasm of 17 thousand fans filling the Sinan Erdem Sports Hall, the Italian players left the field with their heads held high, but felt the sadness of missing a great opportunity.
Thus, Italy's European Championship journey, which started in Gothenburg on August 21, continued in Brno and ended with the final in Istanbul, came to an end at the last step. "The ninth match of Italy, which reached the final with eight consecutive victories, brought the championship to Türkiye under the management of Daniele Santarelli, who repeated its success in 2023."
La Repubblica: "Italy collapsed at the most critical moment: Türkiye preserved the European championship by winning in the fifth set
A silver medal is a silver medal again, but this time it tastes very bitter. Julio Velasco's Italy, which won gold medals at the Paris Olympics and World Championships, lost the final played in Istanbul. . It was as if there were three different national teams on the field: Italy 1, which took the field in the first and third sets, Italy 2, which we saw in the rest of the match, and naturally, Turkey, which found solutions to respond as Italy's overwhelming superiority diminished. "His ability to not give up the fight throughout the match and to hold on to the game brought Türkiye not only the European championship, but also the right to participate in the Los Angeles Olympics."
Il Mattino: "Disappointed Italy, Velasco's students, got stuck in Türkiye: Defeated in five sets, missed the championship
After a successful tournament journey, Italy lost the final after a match that lasted 1 hour and 20 minutes. While defending its European championship, Türkiye also gained the right to participate in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Vargas was named MVP of both the match and the tournament."
Kicker: "Türkiye is European champion again in women's category"
The lost World Championship final was rematched: Türkiye became the European champion by defeating the world champion Italy in the European Championship final.
Host Türkiye won the European championship in women's volleyball for the second time. Last champion Turkey, which eliminated Germany in the quarter-finals, defeated world champion Italy 3-2 (16-25, 25-22, 12-25, 25-21, 15-10) after a tough fight in the final played in Istanbul. Thus, Türkiye got the revenge of the World Championship final, which it lost a year ago. Third place went to Serbia. "Serbia, which finished second in the 2023 European Championship and reached the finals in the last four tournaments in a row, defeated Poland 3-1 (25-21, 25-19, 15-25, 25-18)."
L'Equipe: "Türkiye won a dream victory by defeating Italy in the European Championship final
In a breathtaking match that led to a tie-break, Türkiye defeated the last Olympic and world champion Italy in the final in Istanbul with a score of 3-2. The Turkish team, which won the last European Championship in 2023, retained its title at home."
Novosti: "Incredible Melisa Vargas! The Cuban star played an unforgettable final and brought Turkey a new European Championship title.
Turkey defeated favorites Italy 3-2 (16-25, 25-22, 12-25, 25-21, 15-10) with a great comeback in an unforgettable final to retain their European championship and prove that they are currently the best national team in Europe. Vargas, who did not allow any drama to occur in the last set thanks to his great performance in the tie-break, finished the match with 28 points. "Türkiye won the fifth set 15-10 and preserved the European championship it won in the unforgettable final against Serbia (3-2) in 2023."
Kurir: "After the five-set drama, the hosts celebrated: Türkiye's national volleyball team retained its European Championship title
In the final of the Women's European Volleyball Championship, Türkiye defended its European championship by defeating Italy 3-2 in Istanbul. The person who carried Türkiye to victory was Melisa Vargas with 28 points. Zehra Güneş played with 12 points, Hande Baladın and Derya Cebecioğlu played with 8 points each.
In Italy, Paola Egonu became the top scorer of her team with 28 points."
Meridian Sport: "Istanbul is excited – Türkiye became the champion again! Italy defeated in a jubilant atmosphere in front of 15,000 people
Istanbul hosted an unforgettable night! After a great fight and comeback against the best national team in the world, in front of 15 thousand fans, Türkiye retained its European championship. Italy came to Istanbul with the Olympic and world champion titles and took a 2-1 lead, but the home team did not give up. Supported by Sinan Erdem's enthusiastic cheers, the team made a comeback just when it seemed like everything was over and once again sat on the European throne. Melissa Vargas once again led Türkiye with 28 points. Vargas scored 26 of those points from 61 carries. While Zehra Güneş also made a great contribution with 12 points, Paola Egonu on the other side completed the final with 28 points.
"Italy was on the verge of winning another major trophy, but Türkiye staged a comeback in front of its own fans and became European champions for the second time in a row."
Nemzeti Sport: "Women's Volleyball European Championship: Türkiye National Team retained its championship
