Baladın on fire as Türkiye edge Poland to continue undefeated 

Türkiye and Poland got to the fourth day of action of the Volleyball Nations League 2025 opening week undefeated, but only the reigning European champions were able to preserve their status after the teams met in Beijing, China, on Saturday.

Propelled by a strong performance from star outside hitter Hande Baladın, the Turkish prevailed in an exciting five-set battle at the National Indoor Stadium and are the only team in Pool 3 with a perfect record. A few hours later, hosts China swept France.

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Coming from victories against France and Thailand in the Chinese capital, the Turkish were pushed harder on Saturday, but came out on top in a match of numerous turnarounds and shifts, beating last year’s VNL bronze medalists Poland 3-2 (25-21, 18-21, 25-23, 22-25, 15-7) to get to eight points in the standings.

Part of the Turkish squad that triumphed in the VNL 2023, the 27-year-old Baladın was a huge offensive weapon for her team, producing 22 points, with 19 kills, two blocks and one ace. Opposite Aleksia Karutasu tallied 19 (16 kills, two aces, one block) and outside hitter Yaprak Erker added 15, all in kills.

“It was a really tough match,” Karutasu said. “There were so many rallies and it wasn’t easy to score on them. But I’m really happy that we managed to do our best on the court and have a good performance. I expect China to be our toughest opponents this week, but we’ll do everything we can to get another win.”

Polish star opposite Magdalena Stysiak overcame Baladın’s production by one point and was the match’s top scorer with 23 (21 kills, two blocks). Middle blocker Dominika Pierzchała registered 15 (11 kills, three blocks, one ace) in her first VNL 2025 appearance, while outside hitter Olivia Różański contributed 14 (11 kills, two aces, one block).

The victory was worth more than two points in the VNL standings as it made the teams switch places in the FIVB World Rankings – the Turkish went from fourth to third with the 5.29 points earned, while the Polish moved in the opposite direction after they dropped the same amount.

China handles France in three sets

Türkiye’s last opponents in the first week of the VNL 2025, hosts China built some momentum ahead of Sunday’s encounter with a strong performance, which led them to beat France 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-11) and improve their record to two victories and one loss.

The Asians counted on great performances from their outside hitters as Mengjie Wu was their leading scorer with 17 points (13 kills, three aces, one block), while Yushan Zhuang produced 15, with 12 kills and three blocks. Middle blocker Wang Yuanyuan also got to double digits, scoring ten points (eight kills, one block, one ace).

On the French side, team captain and outside hitter Amélie Rotar was the most effective with nine points (all in kills), two more than opposite Iman Ndiaye.

VNL 2025 – Match Schedule & Results

The last day of action in Beijing will have a full slate of matches, with three duels taking place. Belgium and Poland will get the day started at 11:30 local time (3:30 GMT), with France and Thailand following at 15:00 (7:00 GMT) and China and Türkiye completing the schedule at 19:30 (11:30 GMT).

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