TUR W: Buijs nearly fatal for her ex-club VakifBank, hard-fought win of Eczacıbaşı, Seramiksan in trouble

Nilufer vs. Vakifbank

For the second time in five rounds, VakifBank emerged as winners from a tie-breaker. Nilüfer Belediyespor repeated what newcomers Kameroglu Beylikdüzü Voleybol Ihtisas İstanbul did to ‘Vakif’ in the 2nd round – forced them to play five sets to take the victory. They even managed to tie at 2-2 in sets after trailing 0-2 but thanks to a slightly stronger attack (40% – 30%) and blocking (14-11), the Turkish powerhouse prevailed despite being behind in the service (12-8). As much as 10 players were scorers in VakifBank in today’s game, led by an American Kelsey Robinson who made 17 points. In Nilüfer, the Dutch Anne Buijs (a member of VakifBank in 2015/16) notched 25 points, while Brazilian Ana Carolina da Silva ‘Carol’ had a great display in blocking with 6 kill blocks.

Eczacıbaşı VitrA İstanbul also had to work hard to triumph but not that hard as VakifBank. Pushed by Güldeniz Önal (19 points), they beat İlbank Ankara on the road in four sets. Eczacıbaşı coach Marco Aurelio Motta decided to leave Tijana Bošković and Rachael Adams on the bench but was forced to send Serbian opposite on the floor in the third set when İlbank were close to win it in and take a 2-1 lead. The Cuban Yanelis Santos topped the losing side with 19 points.

Despite investing a lot of money in making a competitive roster this summer, Seramiksan Turgutlu suffered the third defeat in a row. This time, Beşiktaş İstanbul were a better side against one of the title favorites with Ukrainian Olesia Rykhliuk scoring 19 points. Meryem Boz collected 10 points for Seramiksan.

TUR National Championship 2017/2018 / Female / Seniors

REGULAR SEASON / 5TH ROUND

Subscribe to have full access to WoV PROFILES, STATS, and WoVVIDEO.

Receive email notifications about players’ or teams’ latest STATS and VIDEOS.

Discover what’s new in a volleyball world.