VakıfBank, reigning champion of the Vodafone Sultanlar Ligi, came back from two sets down to defeat Eczacıbaşı Peron İstanbul 3-2 in their league meeting, having previously beaten the same opponents in the Şampiyonlar Kupası. The Yellow-Blacks made it four wins from four in the league, recording 16 blocks as a team. Marina Markova led VakıfBank team with 25 points, followed by Tijana Boskovic with 23, while captain Zehra Güneş also reached double figures with 11 points.
VakıfBank came from two sets down to beat Eczacıbaşı Peron İstanbul 3-2 away from home, maintaining their perfect start to the Vodafone Sultanlar Ligi season with a fourth consecutive victory. The Yellow-Blacks finished the game with 16 blocks, while Marina Markova led all scorers for VakıfBank with 25 points. Tijana Boskovic added 23, and captain Zehra Güneş contributed 11.
Eczacıbaşı took control early, winning the first two sets 25-14 and 25-18. VakıfBank responded in the third, raising their level in both defense and attack to win the set 25-18 in 26 minutes. They made a fast start, opening up with a 5-1 lead, and finished the set with five blocks.
Markova scored eight points in the fourth set as VakıfBank won a close contest 25-22 to take the match to a tie-break. The visitors carried that momentum into the deciding set, winning 15-9 to complete the comeback and secure a 3-2 victory.
Giovanni Guidetti: “I love the resilience of my team ”
Following the game, VakıfBank head coach Giovanni Guidetti said: “I think it's not an easy game to comment because I believe that Eczacıbaşı played amazing. We didn't play our best volleyball, but at the end, you know, our attackers came back with amazing performance. I like the resilience and fighting capacity of my team. I like the resilience of the staff. I think the issue here is just that we didn't want to lose 3-0. Probably we didn't expect to win 3-2 neither, but it still happened. We know that Eczacıbaşı is a great team. It's a very strong team. And this season will be a very strong season for everybody.”
Zehra Güneş: “Winning here was very important”
Captain Zehra Güneş said: “Winning here was very important for us. Our opponents played better than we did, but what mattered to us was staying resilient on the court until the very end. And we managed to do that. We made a difficult start to the first set, but we fought our way back into it. We’re happy to win.”
Aylin Sarıoğlu Acar said: “Just like in the Şampiyonlar Kupası Cup, it was a very tough game. I’m happy that we completed the comeback on our opponents’ home court. I’m happy and proud of my team. We gave everything we had. Although we couldn’t fully reflect the game we wanted to play on the court, it’s always great to come away with a win.”
VENUE: Eczacıbaşı Spor Kulübü HDI Sigorta Spor Salonu
REFEREES: Seçkin Yener, Yusuf Kaynar
ECZACIBAŞI PERON İSTANBUL: Dilay Özdemir 3, Ebrar Karakurt 21, Aslı Kalaç 4, Ekaterina Antrapova 27, Aleksandra Uzelac 13, Camilla Weitzel 8, Simge Aköz (L), Yaprak Erkek 4, Elif Şahin 1, Dana Rettke 1,
VAKIFBANK: Deniz Uyanık 4, Cansu Özbay 1, Marina Markova 25, Zehra Güneş 11, Tijana Boskovic 23, Helena Cazaute 3, Eylül Akarçeşme Yatgın (L), Aylin Sarıoğlu Acar (L), Berka Buse Özden 2, Naz Aydemir Akyol 1, Vanja Ivanovic 5
SETS: 25-14, 25-18, 18-25, 22-25, 9-15
SET DURATIONS: 23’, 26’, 26’, 32’, 17’
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