European champions from Turkey merciless, world champions from Serbia in freefall
In the 2025 Volleyball Nations League, the women's tournament presents a stark contrast – from absolute triumph to complete disappointment. European champions Turkey continue their flawless streak with a perfect record of 7 wins in 7 matches, while world champions Serbia suffered their seventh consecutive loss, remaining at the bottom of the standings.
Turkey crushed Korea in front of 15,000 fans in Istanbul
At the Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, in front of over 15,000 spectators, Turkey showed why they are among the big favorites in the tournament. Daniele Santarelli's volleyball players left no chance for the Republic of Korea, winning with a decisive 3:0 (25:11, 25:13, 25:17) in their third match of the tournament in Group 4.
With this success, the Turkish team remains one of two undefeated teams in the VNL 2025, with 7 wins and 19 points, the same as Olympic champions Italy. The Koreans, on the other hand, have only 1 win, 6 losses, and 3 points.
The most effective players for Turkey were young prospects Busra Ozden (12 pts, 2 blocks, and 3 aces) and Deniz Uyanik (11 pts, 2 blocks, and 3 aces). For Korea, only Ji Yun Moon showed some consistency with 9 points.
Next matches on June 22:
Republic of Korea – Dominican Republic (4:00 PM Bulgarian time)
Turkey – Brazil (7:30 PM Bulgarian time)
Serbia in crisis – seventh consecutive loss after comeback from France
At the other end of the spectrum is Serbia, the world champion, who continues their disastrous performance. In a dramatic match at the full Belgrade Arena, the hosts lost to France 2:3 (25:21, 16:25, 25:16, 15:25, 13:15), after taking the lead twice in the sets.
Thus, Zoran Terzic's team remained without a win – 0-7 and only 5 points, occupying the last 18th place in the provisional standings and is under real threat of relegation from the tournament.
Most effective players for Serbia:
Vanja Ivanovic – 15 points
Maja Aleksic – 14 points (including 5 blocks and 2 aces)
Hena Kurtagic – 12 points (4 blocks)
For France, the stars were:
Helena Cazaute – an incredible 26 points (4 blocks, 1 ace)
Imane Ndiaye – 22 points (3 blocks, 1 ace)
Match statistics (France – Serbia):
Attacks: 58 – 46
Block: 14 – 15
Aces: 5 – 4
Opponent errors: 25 – 29
Total points: 102 – 94
The summary:
Turkey is confidently marching towards the final phase, while Serbia is struggling in attempts to avoid a shameful finish. The clash between ambition and crisis has never been so clearly expressed.
