VNL 2025

Turkiye closer to safety with 3-1 win over Germany

Mandiraci leads the way with 25 points for the winners

Published 09:39, 17 Jul 2025

Türkiye (TUR) vs. Germany (GER) men - Pool 9 - Preliminary Phase #51899150

Turkiye’s Efe Mandiraci on the serve against Germany

Turkiye scored an important victory in the race for survival in the men’s Volleyball Nations League. In Thursday’s opening match in Chiba, they produced a four-set win over Germany to improve to a 3-7 win-loss record and 9 points and rise to fourth from the bottom in the current VNL standings, in 15^th place, two wins above the Netherlands and Serbia. Meanwhile, Germany narrowed their chances of making the Finals. They stand 11^th on 4-6 and 15.

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Outside hitter Efe Mandiraci contributed a match-high 25 points towards Turkiye’s 3-1 (29-27, 25-22, 18-25, 30-28) victory, including the game winner on the team’s sixth match point in the fourth set. The 23-year-old rising star spiked at a 59% success rate and fired three aces to top the charts. Opposite Adis Lagumdzija added another 23 points, including two aces and a kill block, while outside Mirza Lagumdzija impressed with a 71% success rate in swinging and put up two kill blocks to finish with 12 points.

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“I would first like to also congratulate Germany, the other side. It was a big victory for us. I think we played very well and I am very happy,” Mandiraci told VBTV. “I am very happy that our efforts are paying back. This is very comforting. Playing like a team is what we have wanted to demonstrate since the beginning, so we are very happy that we have achieved this goal.”

As many as four players reached the double digits on the German side. Opposite Filip John registered a 69% success rate in attack and put away two serving points and one in blocking towards a match-high 25 points. Outsides Erik Rohrs and Tobias Brand added 18 and 13 points, respectively, while middle blocker Florian Krage raised three stuffs and scored an ace towards a 10-point tally.

Türkiye vs. Germany - Highlights | Men's VNL 2025

Next in Chiba, Argentina will take on hosts Japan at 19:20 local time (10:20 UTC), before Thursday’s VNL action continues in Gdansk and Ljubljana.