Turkey Will Not Be Satisfied With EuroVolley Silver This Time

Turkey, which finished the tournament in second place by closely missing out on the gold medal at the CEV EuroVolley 2019 , will aim for the top of the podium this time.

The Sultans of the Net, who participated in the European Championships for the first time in 1963, finished the tournament in tenth place. For the first time, they hosted the EuroVolley in 1967; however, they did not get the results they wanted and ranked 12th. 2003 was undoubtedly a turning point for Turkey, which could not achieve remarkable success in the tournaments they participated in until then. Hosting the EuroVolley again, Turkey managed to advance to the final and won the silver medal by losing to Poland.

After this success, the Sultans of the net, who showed their power to the world, would gain momentum and become among the best teams not only in Europe but also in the world.

Turkey won their second EuroVolley medal in 2011. After losing to the host and the champions Serbia in a five-set breathtaking semi-final battle, Turkey won the bronze medal by defeating Italy in another five-set thriller.

Continuing their successful report card in Europe, Turkey also managed to take the bronze medal at the 2017 EuroVolley in Azerbaijan, with Italian expert Giovanni Guidetti leading the team, which won significant achievements along with all the national teams he had previously coached.

Another target tournament for Turkey was definitely the 2019 EuroVolley. One of the hosts, Turkey, would give everything for the podium once again in front of their fans in this tournament. However, the group stage didn’t go very well for Turkey. Despite having difficulties against their rivals, they still found a way to complete the group in second place after Serbia. In the Eight Finals, Turkey faced Croatia and was victorious with a score of 3-2 in an unexpectedly difficult match.

This being said, after this match, Turkey began to increase their performance significantly. In the Quarter-Finals, Turkey beat the Netherlands, which had not even given a set to their opponents until that point, by a score of 3-0, and was the better side against Poland in the Semis.

Turkey, who once again go through to the final on their home court, played a final match that will not be out of mind for long against Serbia and was defeated following a tie-break. Apart from their sadness, they again became the second-best team in Europe and won the silver medal.

Turkey has quite important names in their squad; however, there is no doubt that the most integral part is the captain Eda Erdem Dündar. The 34-year-old star, who was named “Best Middle Blocker” at the 2019 EuroVolley, CEV 2020 European Tokyo Olympic Qualification, 2021 CEV Champions League, and finally the 2021 VNL, leads the team with both her performance and energy.

In addition, 21-year-old young promising star Ebrar Karakurt, who recently became the “Second Top Scorer” in the 2021 VNL, takes on the team’s scoring load. Turkey is also in good hands in defense: Simge Şebnem Aköz, “Best Libero” of the last EuroVolley and CEV 2020 European Tokyo Olympic Qualification, continues to contribute to the team with excellent reception and incredible digs. The brain of the team is Naz Aydemir Akyol was selected as the “Best Setter” three times in the CEV Champions League.

Turkey will face hosts Romania, Ukraine, Sweden, Finland, and the Netherlands respectively in Group D at the 2021 CEV EuroVolley.