Türkiye sweep the Netherlands and start Week 2 on the right foot

Türkiye gave another sign of strength in the Volleyball Nations League 2023 by starting its campaign in the second week of the tournament with a strong victory in Hong Kong, China, on Wednesday.

After winning three out of their four matches two weeks ago in front of their home fans in Antalya, the Europeans produced a 3-0 (31-29, 25-21, 25-15) triumph against the Netherlands to move up to fourth place in the standings.

• Watch Volleyball Nations League 2023 live on VBTV

The Turkish victory was the result of a true team effort as the winners ended the match with five players on the same scoring range against the Dutch. Above all of them was star opposite Ebrar Karakurt, who led all scorers with 13 points (12 kills, one ace).

The team also had significant contributions from outside hitter Hande Baladin and middle Eda Erdem, who added 11 points each, and opposite Melissa Vargas and outside hitter Ilkin Aydin, who tallied nine points apiece.

“This was a very important match for us because the Dutch play very fast,” Erdem commented. “We struggled a lot with it in the first set, we only got to find our rhythm more towards the end. We respect them a lot because they have some great hitters, but we did an amazing job with our blocking and defense and with counter-attacks. We have a very good connection and I’m very happy with what we showed today.”

Still looking for their first victory in the VNL 2023, the Dutch, who had some notable additions to their squad for the second week of the VNL 2023, had a strong debut from outside hitter Nika Daalderop, who led the team’s offense with 12 points (11 kills, one ace). Outside hitter Nova Marring and middle blocker Indy Baijens also reached double digits, with 11 and ten points respectively.

The Turkish were better than the Dutch in three statistical categories, getting more points from kills (53 to 42), aces (four to two) and opponent errors (18 to 13). The Netherlands, however, had the lead in blocks (eight to six).

**Volleyball Nations League 2023: full schedule and results**

The first match of the day in Hong Kong saw defending champions Italy claim their second victory in the VNL 2023 with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-23) win over fellow Europeans Bulgaria, who have one triumph in five matches.

Opposite Sylvia Nwakalor had a fantastic performance, producing 18 points (15 kills, one ace, two blocks), while team captain Myriam Sylla added another ten, all in kills. Bulgaria also had two players scoring in double digits with outside hitter Maria Yordanova leaving the court with 12 points and opposite Radostina Marinova tallying 11.

Thursday will be the first day with three matches in Hong Kong and the schedule begins with the duel between Bulgaria and Canada at 13:30 local time (5:30 UTC). Later, Poland will play Türkiye at 17:00 local time (9:00 UTC) and the Dominican Republic will battle Italy at 20:30 local time (12:30 UTC).

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