Türkiye on top in friendly tournament in Modena

Reigning European champions Türkiye came out on top in a preparation tournament for the upcoming Volleyball Nations League 2025 held this weekend in Modena, Italy, involving four teams from the continent.

With two victories in three matches, the Turkish took first place at the AIA Aequilibrium Cup Women Elite, held between Friday and Sunday, overcoming hosts Italy, who also had two wins and a loss, Germany and the Netherlands, who had one win and two losses each.

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Despite not having some key players, such as opposite Melissa Vargas, setter Cansu Özbay, outside hitter Ebrar Karakurt and middle blocker Zehra Güneş, the team led by head coach Daniele Santarelli was able to overcome strong competition in Modena. The Sultans of the Net started their campaign on Friday, defeating Germany 3-1 (25-23, 25-21, 23-25, 25-21) in the first match of the tournament.

On Saturday, they met the hosts and reigning Olympic champions and went down, losing 3-2 (14-25, 25-22, 17-25, 29-27, 15-9). A new face with the team this season, opposite Alexia Căruțașu scored 18 points for the Turkish, one more than outside hitter Hande Baladin.

The Turkish swept (25-22, 25-22, 25-14) the Netherlands in their last match in Modena on Sunday and needed Italy to lose to Germany to finish in first place. That’s what happened, as the Germans triumphed 3-1 (25-19, 25-18, 19-25, 25-22), upsetting the Olympic champions and giving the Turkish the title.

Velasco sees positives in the Italian campaign

Using only three Olympic champions – setter Carlotta Cambi and outside hitters Gaia Giovannini and Loveth Omoruyi -, Italy defeated the Netherlands 3-2 (25-14, 30-32, 25-15, 24-26, 15-10) in their first match, on Friday, and ended the tournament in second place.

Despite the frustrating ending for the Italians, head coach Julio Velasco approved of the experience and saw positives in the team’s campaign in Modena.

“For us, it was a very interesting tournament as we got to play two tie-breakers and ended it with a very intense match against Germany,” Velasco said. “We always played with determination, even if we weren’t always as incisive as we could be against Germany. We struggled a little bit in difficult plays against Türkiye and Germany, and our opponents did better than us. I never accept losing, but we must remember that we held our own against a German team that had most of their players.”

In the first week of the VNL 2025, from June 4-8, while Italy and Germany will be in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Türkiye will compete in Beijing, China, and the Netherlands will get on the court in Ottawa, Canada.

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