The Turkish women's national team won the Volleyball Nations League for the second time in its history. In the final in Macau, Daniele Santarelli's proteges overcame Brazil and prevailed with a 3:1 score (23:25, 25:23, 26:24, 25:21), to repeat their success from 2023. Brazil took silver, after five attempts to win the trophy.
The final started with a slight advantage for Brazil, which maintained a two-to-three point lead for almost the entire first set. The Turkish team managed to reduce their deficit from 18:23 to 22:23, but did not achieve a full comeback and the South Americans took the lead in the match after 25:23.
In the second set, Turkey gradually took the initiative. After the tie at 17:17, Santarelli's team made a run of three consecutive points to make it 20:17. Brazil restored the tie at 20:20, but the Turkish team responded with another run and after 25:23, they tied the score.
The third set was the most dramatic. After trailing 5:8 and later 19:20, Turkey made a comeback, led by the unstoppable Melissa Vargas. At 23:23, the Europeans kept their composure and won 26:24 to take a 2:1 lead.
In the fourth set, Turkey started excellently and took a 9:3 lead, but Brazil gradually caught up and tied at 18:18. In the decisive moments, however, Vargas and Hande Baladın led their team to another run, and the Turkish team closed the match with 25:21 and deservedly triumphed with the title.
Melissa Vargas was outstanding with 33 points. Hande Baladın added 19, and İlkin Aydın – 15. For Brazil, Ana Cristina was the top scorer with 25 points, and Rosamaria finished with 19.
| Statistic | Turkey | Brazil |
|---|---|---|
| Attack | 61 | 61 |
| Block | 14 | 13 |
| Aces | 7 | 7 |
| Points from opponent's errors | 17 | 12 |
| Total points | 99 | 93 |
| Digs | 83 | 84 |
| Reception | 85 | 93 |
| Successful setter passes | 133 | 142 |
Although Brazil had a slight advantage in digs, reception, and successful setter passes, Turkey compensated with more effective blocking and better utilization of opponent's errors. Both teams finished with an equal number of points from attack and aces, but precisely the five additional points from Brazilian errors and the minimal superiority in blocking (14:13) proved decisive for the Turkish team's second trophy in the Volleyball Nations League.
photo:volleyballworld.com
