Türkiye set for first semifinal appearance after beating the USA

Reigning European champions Türkiye dropped their first set at the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship on Thursday, but powered through a brave United States team to advance to the tournament’s semifinals for the first time in history.

The Europeans came out on top in the fourth and last quarterfinal match of the event, which took place at the Huamark Indoor Stadium, in Bangkok, taking the Americans down with a 3-1 (25-14, 22-25, 25-14, 25-23) victory to continue their chase for their first World Championship medal.

• Watch the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship on VBTV

In the semifinals, the Turkish will face Asian giants Japan, who eliminated the Netherlands in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. The match will take place on Saturday, at 15:30 local time (8:30 GMT).

Star outside hitter Ebrar Karakurt delivered her best performance at the World Championship so far against the Americans, leading the Turkish side with 23 points (20 kills, three blocks). Opposite Melissa Vargas was also instrumental, tallying 21 points (18 kills, three aces), while team captain and middle blocker Eda Erdem added another 13, with a match-high seven blocks and six kills.

“It’s a historic day for us, it’s the first time our national team makes it to the Final Four of a World Championship,” Karakurt remarked. “We came into this match strongly believing we could win it. Each of my teammates did their best and I’m very proud of them. I tried to help the team and am proud of what I was able to do today. But it’s not over yet. We have two more matches to play and we want to win gold here.”

Sarah Franklin was the most productive American player on the court with 12 points (ten kills, one block, one ace), one more than fellow outside hitter Avery Skinner, middle blocker Dana Rettke and opposite Stephanie Samedy.

“I’m very proud of the team,” Rettke, a Paris 2024 Olympic silver medalist, reacted. “When you look at where we were at the beginning of the season and where we are now, there’s been so much growth. We worked very hard over the summer to be in the best possible shape here, and we did a great job. It’s the first year in the quad and we have a new coaching staff and new players, so this is a great result.”

Türkiye’s strong game at the net paved the way for their victory as the Europeans largely outscored the Americans in both kills (58 to 41) and blocks (19 to 11). The USA had the most aces (six to three) and there was a similar number of errors made by both sides (Türkiye gave up 18 points and the United States, 17).

2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship: full schedule and results

Earlier on Thursday, Brazil topped France 3-0 (27-25, 33-31, 25-19) to make it to the semifinals. The South Americans will play against Olympic champions Italy, who overcame Poland on Wednesday, in the second semifinal, scheduled for Saturday, at 19:30 (12:30 GMT).

Quick links:
2025 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship
VBTV
Volleyball World Facebook
Volleyball World X
Volleyball World Instagram
Volleyball World YouTube
Subscribe to Volleyball World's Newsletter