Karutasu delivers 38 in Türkiye's magic comeback over China

Türkiye counted on an incredible performance from one of their new faces in the Volleyball Nations League 2025 to complete their schedule in the opening week of the tournament with an undefeated campaign of four victories on Sunday, in Beijing, China.

Going through her first week as a member of the country's national team, opposite Aleksia Karutasu delivered the best individual production of the VNL 2025 so far, leaving the court with 38 points, and helped the European champions beat China in the tie-breaker. Thailand and Poland also triumphed on the last day of Pool 3 matches in the Chinese capital.

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After overcoming France, Thailand and Poland over the week, the Turkish faced hosts China on Sunday and managed to keep their win record perfect thanks to a miraculous comeback. The European champions saw their first upset in the tournament very close, being down 24-20 in the fourth set, but avoided four Chinese match points to take the set and carry the momentum into the tie-breaker to win the match 3-2 (19-25, 25-20, 29-31, 28-26, 15-12).

Karutasu, who will celebrate her 22nd birthday on Tuesday, had one of the best individual performances in VNL history, producing a jaw-dropping 38 points, with 36 kills and two blocks. The left-handed opposite came up big when her team needed the most, registering seven points in the tie-breaker.

"I'm really proud of the team and what we did in these four matches," Karutasu said. "We played some unbelievable matches, and I'm just really proud. Today was really tough, but I knew we could come back. When it was happening, I was thinking 'we're doing it'. I'm very happy that the team trusts me and that I could give the team some points tonight. Now we can't wait to play at home in Istanbul in two weeks."

Türkiye's second-best scorer in the match was Hande Baladın, who got 18 points, all in kills. Fellow outside hitter Saliha Şahin had an excellent performance off the bench, producing 16 points, with 15 kills and one block.

On the Chinese side, outside hitter Zhuang Yushan was the standout, with 24 points (21 kills, two blocks, one ace) registered. Opposite and team captain Gong Xiangyu tallied 19, one more than outside hitter Wu Mengjie. The Asians had two wins and two losses at home this week.

Thailand claim first victory

Reigning Asian champions Thailand managed to leave Beijing with a victory on the board after they downed France 3-1 (25-14, 19-25, 25-23, 25-13). The Thais had lost to Poland, Belgium and Türkiye in their first matches in China.

"We went through some difficult moments during the match, but we managed to find solutions for them," star setter Pornpun Guedpard said. "The first week is always complicated as we're still figuring things out, but we handled it very well from a mental standpoint. I joined the team just one week ago and didn't have much time to practice. I think we have a really good team, and we'll get better with more time together."

Star opposite Pimpichaya Kokram had an excellent showing against the French, registering 19 points (16 kills, two blocks, one ace) for the winning side. Young outside hitter Warisara Seetaloed added 16, with 14 kills and two aces.

Paris Olympian and opposite Iman Ndiaye matched Pimpichaya’s production for the French, delivering 19 points, with 16 kills, two aces and one block. Outside hitter Maéva Schalk also got to double digits in scoring, tallying 12 points, with eight kills, three blocks and one ace.

Poland finish strong against Belgium

Returning home from Beijing with three victories and one loss, Poland, which earned bronze medals in the last two editions of the VNL, had a strong performance in their last match in the Chinese capital, beating European rivals Belgium 3-0 (25-11, 25-15, 27-25).

Using a rotated lineup, the Polish had opposite Malwina Smarzek as their most productive player on Sunday, with 20 points (17 kills, two blocks, one ace) scored. Star outside hitter Martyna Łukasic got 15, with ten kills, four blocks and one ace.

Belgium, which had one victory and three setbacks in Pool 3, had in opposite Pauline Martin their only player to get to double digits in scoring – the 22-year-old produced ten points, all in kills.

VNL 2025 – Match Schedule & Results

After a week of break, when the men will be in action, the women’s VNL will return from June 18-22, when pools will be held in Istanbul, Türkiye, Hong Kong, China, and Belgrade, Serbia.

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