Belgrade, Serbia, October 2, 2011. After their hard-fought semifinal versus host Serbia (2-3) the day before, Turkey proved strong nerves and great physical skills to overpower Italy in a inspiring five-setter 25-21, 15-25, 25-27, 25-19, 15-10 to claim bronze at the 2011 CEV Volleyball European Championship – Women. It is the second medal for Turkey’s women national team after having won silver 2003 in Ankara.
Turkey’s Neslihan Darnel was the outstanding player of the match, scoring 31 points for her team. Carolina Costagrande added 22 kills to her personal record book.
Turkey jumped out for an 8-6 lead at the first technical timeout. The volleyball fans were wondering whether the physical or mental aspect was more important for today’s bronze medal match. On one side, Italy suffered from a devastating defeat versus Germany in Saturday’s semifinal, on the other hand Turkey had to deal with a short recovery after their epic match versus Serbia less than 24 hours ago. There was no answer to this question until the crucial phase of the first set as both teams played on an equal level. Italy’s head coach Massimo Barbolini had to call a first break at 18-20 after Turkey scored two points in a row. Neslihan was Turkey’s most important player at this stage of the match. She scored once from the right and twice from back row to give the defending champions a hard time. Neriman Ozsoy then stopped Simona Gioli to bring up set ball for Turkey at 24-21. One rally later, Bahar Toksoy closed the first set out in Turkey’s favor with a quick attack on the right.
Like in Saturday’s semifinal, the Italian supporters still missed the fire and determination in the eyes of their Italian stars. The “squadra azzurra” appeared spiritless and almost without passion. Nevertheless, the Turkish team was not able to keep the pace in the beginning of the second set, giving Italy the opportunity to bounce back into the match. Eleven Turkish mistakes compared to five in the first set and 25% less efficiency in attacking were the reasons for the Italian comeback. At the second technical timeout, Italy already led by six points. The precision Turkey showed in the first period was replaced by misconception. On the other hand, Italy sped up their game with more power and the aim for a turnaround. Antonella Del Core ended the set in Italy’s favor at 25-15. Carolina Costagrande scored five winners for her team in the second set.
There was not much to separate the two teams in the beginning of the third set. Italy was up 11-10. Turkey fired back with Eda Erdem and Ozsoy to turn the tables at 14-13. Three consecutive kills for Turkey widened the gap to three points at the second technical break. However, a 21-18 lead was not enough to conclude. Four points in a row gave Italy the chance to come back. The set balanced on a knife’s edge at 23-23, before Neslihan added another breath-taking winner from back row to give Turkey a first set ball. Italy parried with Del Core and a Piccinini ace. After 28 minutes, Del Core finished the never-ending set 27-25 for Italy.
If Turkey wanted to keep their chances for the bronze medals alive, they needed an immediate reaction. But the longer the contest lasted, the heavier were the legs of the Turkish players. Nevertheless, with a strong desire to win the team of head coach Marco Aurelio Motta regained the momentum in set No. 4. Five consecutive points in the middle of the set were enough for the Turks to prevail. Erdem closed the set out at 25-19.
Neslihan contributed seven points to the Turkish success in the fourth period, Erdem five. Toksoy served for 3-1 at the start of the deciding set, before Piccinini responded with a missile from the left. At 3-6, Barbolini called his ladies off court to give them new instructions. It didn’t help a lot as Erdem hammered the Mikasa down to give Turkey a hard-fought 8-5 lead at changeover. Costagrande sent the ball out of bounds at 5-11 to widen the gap to six points. Serena Ortolani came in for Del Core, but it was already too late. Piccinini offered the Turks a first match ball at 14-8 sending the ball wide. Italy saved two, but couldn’t stop Neslihan one rally later to give Turkey another medal at CEV Volleyball European Championships after silver in 2003.
Turkey head coach Marco Aurelio Motta: “For us, this medal of the utmost importance and it is also for the Turkish volleyball. This is the second medal we won; the first one was in Ankara year 2003. This is very important for our appearance in the League of champions too. We took this medal, which is very nice, and I’m very happy for it. My team improved, we do have young players who showed their skills. Both yesterday’s and today’s matches were stressful, but we kept our physical and mental energy, that’s why we beat great team and I’m happy and proud because of it.”
Turkey captain Esra Gumus: “After we lost last night, today’s match was very difficult. We put all our energy at the court and I think we have played better tonight. We had a strong motivation to win; hence we won this bronze medal. Also, this is a nice birthday present, since Italy is a very good team. We have done a great job tonight; we played on a high level throughout the entire championship.”
Italy head coach Massimo Barbolini: “Congratulations to the Turkish team on the deserved victory. Winning this match was very important, we tried to win, but we didn’t played very well. The Turkish team had better defense; still we fought till the end, but they beat us. I’m very sorry for losing tonight and I, once again, congratulate the Turkish team.”
Italy captain Eleonora Lo Bianco: “I want to congratulate the Turkish team on the exciting match they put on. They performed great during this championship, they were outstanding. And yes, we tried to fight for this medal, but it wasn’t enough, we weren’t patient, we made a lot of mistakes, especially at the end of the fifth set, and we didn’t have enough strength to perform on a high level till the end of this match; all of that decided who the winner should be. They outplayed us and I congratulate them again.”