The Turkish men's national team began its participation in the second week of the Volleyball Nations League (VNL) 2026 in an impressive manner. In a match from Pool 5, played in the Polish city of Gliwice, the Turks gave China no chances and won with a decisive3:0 (25:16, 25:19, 25:21).
Right from the start of the match, the Turkish team set a high pace and exerted serious pressure with their serve. The Chinese struggled to find solutions against the opponent's organized block and convincingly lost the first set 16:25.
Turkey's superiority continued in the second set. Alper Hamurcu's players controlled the rallies and extended their lead after 25:19. In the third set, China offered more serious resistance, but the Turks remained stable in the decisive moments and closed the match after 25:21.
Lagumdzija and Yuksel led Turkey to victory
The top scorer of the match wasAdis Lagumdzijawith 18 points. He received strong support fromGokcen Yuksel, who scored 15 points.
For China, the only player with a more significant contribution in attack wasWen Zhe Hewith 8 points.
Team Statistics
| Metric | China | Turkey |
|---|---|---|
| Attack | 34 | 44 |
| Block | 2 | 13 |
| Aces | 1 | 6 |
| Points from opponent errors | 19 | 12 |
| Total points | 56 | 75 |
| Digs | 36 | 43 |
| Reception | 64 | 49 |
| Sets | 79 | 76 |
The biggest difference came in blocking, where Turkey scored 13 points against just 2 for China. The Turks also outperformed their opponent in serving (6:1 aces), as well as in attack (44:34 points). China stayed closer only thanks to more points coming from opponent errors (19:12), but this was not enough to compensate for the huge difference in the other elements.
Top scorers
| Team | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Turkey | Adis Lagumdzija | 18 |
| Turkey | Gokcen Yuksel | 15 |
| China | Wen Zhe He | 8 |
| China | Yu Y.T. | 6 |
Lagumdzija and Yuksel scored a total of 33 points, which represents almost half of all Turkey's points in the match. China failed to produce a player with a double-digit score, which clearly shows the team's difficulties in attack against the Turkish block and defense.
The victory brought to Turkey4.65 pointsfor the world ranking, while China lost the same asset. The Turks confirmed their role as a favorite in the match and made an excellent start to the second week of the tournament in Poland.
photo:volleyballworld.com
