Istanbul, Turkey, February 22, 2017. VakifBank ISTANBUL claimed also the re-match with city rivals Eczacibasi VitrA 3-1 (25-21, 25-14, 21-25, 25-15) to extend their winning streak in Pool D of the 2017 CEV Volleyball Champions League – Women to five matches in a row and make sure they will finish the group stage on top of the pile. As a result, VakifBank secured themselves a spot in the Playoffs 6 of Europe’s elite club competition with one round still to go. This result accounts for VakifBank’s eleventh victory in the last 12 matches they have contested with Eczacibasi VitrA.

The MVP of the Rio 2016 Olympics, Zhu Ting, top scored for VakifBank with 24 points as Lonneke Slöetjes and Milena Rasic added 17 and 13 to the tally of the winning side. VakifBank finished the game with an impressive haul of 15 aces.

Giovanni Guidetti, head coach of VakifBank: “It was a great game and I think everyone will agree with this statement. Eczacibasi VitrA caught a good start to the match and played very well in the first set. However, my players did not give up and were able to fight their way back. We really played great today and I am obviously happy with that. Of course, we still have to work hard and things to iron out but I am pleased with the performance that my players showed tonight. However, we have not won anything yet. There is still a long way to go but I am confident that we can reach our goals.”

Lonneke Slöetjes, the Dutch opposite of VakifBank: “We started a little nervously and the early stages of the match were really close, but we were ready for that. We managed to perform really well, showing some great defence actions and closing spectacular rallies in our favour. I am very happy with our qualification to the next round and with our leadership in the pool. I hope we can continue the same way through to the end of the competition.”

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