The Volleyball Nations League (VNL) 2023 final tournament, currently underway in Arlington, USA, has confirmed its final two semifinalists. China and Turkey have triumphed in their quarterfinal matches, earning their places in the next stage of the competition.
In a thrilling match between the 5th and 6th placed teams after the preliminary phase, China emerged victorious against Brazil, securing a 3-1 victory (25-21, 25-20, 20-25, 25-23). This win has ensured China’s place as the third team in the tournament semifinals. China’s top scorers, Li Yingying with 16 points and Gong Xiangyu with 14, guided their team to this impressive achievement. Despite their loss, Brazil’s Thaisa Menezes stood out with a match-high 18 points, and Gabriela ‘Gabi’ Guimarães added 16.
China’s victory sets them up for a challenging match against Poland, the top-ranked team after the Preliminary Phase, in one of the tournament’s semifinals, slated for Saturday.
Meanwhile, Turkey secured the last semifinal ticket with a clean sweep over Italy, scoring a straight 3-0 victory (25-20, 25-15, 25-18) in the quarterfinals. They will now face the tournament’s hosts, Team USA, in their semifinal showdown. This match marks Turkey’s fifth VNL semifinal appearance, under the guidance of Coach Daniele Santarelli, they will be seeking their third tournament medal, following their silver win in 2018 and a bronze in 2021.
In the victorious match for Turkey, Melissa Vargas emerged as the top scorer with 16 points, while Ebrar Karakurt, stepping up as an outside hitter, contributed an additional 8 points. Italy’s leading scorers were Francesca Villani and Sylvia Nwakalor, who scored 11 and 8 points respectively.
