Turkey took another important step towards participating in the final tournament of the Nations League in Macao, after defeating host Japan 3:1 (25:22, 22:25, 25:22, 25:22) in a match from the last week of the preliminary phase in Osaka. This was the eighth success for the Turkish women, who accumulated 22 points and are now very close to a spot among the top eight.
The Turkish team holds fourth place in the provisional standings with a record of 8 wins and 3 losses. In their last match, the Turkish women will face Thailand, and with another victory, they will practically secure their participation in the finals.
The match against Japan was extremely even in attack, where Turkey scored 60 points against 59 for the hosts. The big difference came in blocking – 12 successful blocks for the Turkish women against just 3 for Japan.
The Japanese women had a slight advantage in serving with 3 aces against 2 and received 26 points from opponent's errors, while Turkey got 23. Nevertheless, superiority at the net proved decisive.
Vargas was the top scorer for Turkey with 20 points, and Kisal added 14. For Japan, Wada finished with 27 points, while Ishikawa scored 15.
Japan had better reception statistics – 85 against 79, while the hosts also led in saved balls in defense with 84 against 65. Turkey, however, compensated with a much stronger block and more effective play in decisive moments.
Before the last day, Turkey appears to be an almost certain participant in the finals in Macao. Japan remains in the fight, but in their last match, they will face Poland and will need a victory to keep their qualification chances alive.

photo:volleyballworld.com