Brazil and Türkiye celebrate positive debuts at Paris 2024

Two of the main favorites to win gold in the women’s volleyball tournament of the Paris 2024 Olympics, Brazil and Türkiye secured their first victories in the event on Monday, at the South Paris Arena 1, in entirely different ways as while the South Americans had no problems handling Kenya, the Europeans were down 2-0 against the Netherlands before coming back to triumph in the tie-breaker.

Making their debut in Pool B, Brazil, the second-best team in the FIVB World Rankings, showed their superiority on the court to take the African champions down 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-12) and start on the right foot. It was the eighth victory of the South Americans in as many meetings and they’re still yet to lose a set to the Kenyans in international tournaments.

With the three points earned, Brazil share the top spot in Pool B with Poland, who earned the same amount with their four-set victory over Japan on Sunday. Asians and Africans are at the bottom of the standings with no points collected yet.

Opposite Rosamaria Montibeller and middle blocker Ana Carolina 'Carol' da Silva were Brazil's main scorers in the match, producing 13 points each. Middle blocker Thaisa Menezes had 11, with seven kills and four blocks.

"It was a great first match," setter Macris Carneiro said. "Debuts are at times a bit nervous and the Olympics are different than any other tournament, but we did a good job of keeping our focus and it was important that everyone got to play a little bit and get a feeling of it. We know there were things we could still have done better and we can't overlook those details because on other matches they can be the difference between winning and losing. The arena is beautiful and the atmosphere was amazing, everything is ready for us to give our best inside the court."

Opposite Pamella Owino was Kenya's most productive player, delivering seven points (six kills, one block).

"Brazil is a top team and with this being the opening match for us, I think we did a very good job," said captain Trizah Atuka. "Despite the loss, we enojeyd ourselves on the court and had some good moments. It was very emotioanl for us. We have other matches here and we hope we can build from this and just try to get a better result. Being the flag bearer was an amazing experience, especially after I lost the Tokyo Games due to an injury. I worked very hard to come here and captain the team and to get to carry our country's flag, it was a dream come true."

The Brazilians were better in all skills, outscoring the Kenyans in kills (42 to 21), blocks (16 to three) and aces (two to zero).

Paris 2024 – Match Schedule and Results

Brazil will play next in Paris on Thursday, when they are scheduled to face Japan at 13:00 local time (11:00 GMT). The night before, Kenya will meet Poland at 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT).

Vargas leads Türkiye's incredible comeback

Türkiye's first victory at the Paris Games had much more drama and excitement as the European champions were down two sets against a determined Dutch team and had to count on the power of their star players and the support coming from the packed stands to rally and walk away with a dramatic 3-2 (19-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-22, 15-12) victory.

By avoiding an opening-match upset, the Turkish, who are ranked fourth in the world, end the first round of matches in second place in Pool C with two points - one less than leaders Italy and one more than third-placed the Netherlands. The Dominican Republic have not earned points yet.

The result maintained a long winning streak of the Turkish against the Dutch as they have now triumphed nine consecutive times against their continental rivals. This was, however, the toughest of these encounters as never before the Netherlands had been able to force a fifth set.

Playing her first-ever match at the Olympics, star opposite Melissa Vargas was absolutely pivotal in the Turkish comeback, topping all scorers with an impressive 30 points (29 kills, one block). Captain Eda Erdem and outside hitter Hande Baladin produced 12 points apiece.

"It was our first match at the Olympics and we don't play in the morning very often and I think those were the reasons for our slow start, we were still adjusting," Vargas commented. "Once we got our focus back, we were able to play at the level we're used to. We were trying to stay calm and confident that we would get away from that difficult situation and I'm happy we did and got to start the Olympics with a win. Playing volleyball is always beautiful and I'm excited to do it here at the Olympics."

The Dutch had an excellent team performance, with several players contributing to their great showing, but outside hitters Jolien Knollema and Nika Daalderop, with 15 points each, and middle blocker Juliet Lohuis, with 13, were their most productive ones.

"Of course it's a shame that we lost the match after leading 2-0, but I'm really proud of the team for how we fought against such a top opponent as Türkiye," Knollema reflected. "They started playing better after the second set and our blocking and defense got a little bit out of system. No one expected we could beat Türkiye and we fought for it until the end. It was a great start in terms of how we want to play and express ourselves here at the Olympics. It's a tough pool and this point we won can help us advance."

Türkiye's next match in Paris will be on Thursday, when the Sultans of the Net face the Dominican Republic in the first match of the day, at 9:00 local time (7:00 GMT). Later, at 17:00 local time (15:00 GMT), the Netherlands will meet VNL champions Italy.

Two more matches on Monday

Two more matches will complete the women-only schedule at the South Paris Arena 1 on Monday. The encounters will get the tournament started in Pool A, with the United States meeting China at 17:00 local time (15:00 GMT) and world champions Serbia playing hosts France in the last match of the day, at 21:00 local time (19:00 GMT).

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