Vargas piled up 10 points in the first set alone to help her team take the lead. The set was even through 9-9, when Turkiye broke away with a 6-1 run. China, however, rallied back with a series of six consecutive points to get back to within two at 21-19, but could not get any closer through the end of the set. Middle blocker Sinead Jack Kisal brought in set point at 24-20 and outside hitter Ilkin Aydin converted it to 25-21. Stepping up their blocking performance through middle Zehra Gunes, Turkiye dominated the second set as well. After 6-4 China’s way, the European team mastered an 8-1 run and never looked back. Turkiye finished the set off with three points in a row – a first-tempo swing by Gunes for 23-15, an ace by Aydin for 24-15 and a block-out hit by outside Hande Baladin for 25-15. At 14-14 in set three was the last time the score was level. Turkiye jumped ahead with four in a row and cruised on to the victory. Vargas was once again spearheading the Turkish offense in that last set. Finally, Aydin’s elegant tip brought in match point at 24-20, before it was all over at 25-20 on a Chinese unforced error in attack.
Vargas produced a match-high total of 23 points to top the chart of the match. Her tally included one ace and one kill block. Aydin spiked at a 68% success rate and also added an ace and a kill block towards her 15-point tally. Baladin led the servers with two aces towards an 11-point total, while Gunes emerged as the best blocker with four stuffs to her name. Turkiye outplayed China by 5-2 in aces and by 7-6 in kill blocks, but it was the offense that made the biggest difference with 54-36 in successful swings.
“It was a very important victory for Turkiye that took us to the final. Against a big Chinese team, we fought for every point,” Vargas told VBTV. “I expect a very tense game and a point-for-point fight against Brazil tomorrow.”
