Unstoppable Vargas takes Türkiye to first World Championship final

Türkiye continue to make history at the 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship and secured their first-ever podium appearance in the tournament on Saturday by advancing to the final in Thailand.

The reigning European champions started behind against Japan in the semifinals, but counted on a spectacular performance from star opposite Melissa Vargas to turn things around and triumph 3-1 (16-25, 25-17, 25-18, 27-25) at the Huamark Indoor Stadium, in Bangkok.

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

On Sunday, the Turkish will face the winners of the second semifinal, which reunites Italy and Brazil later on Saturday, in the final, which is scheduled for 19:30 local time (12:30 GMT). Four hours earlier, Japan will play for third place against the losers of that match.

The first World Championship medal in Turkish volleyball history adds to the legacy of what’s already the country’s most talented and accomplished generation. The team led by head coach Daniele Santarelli won the Volleyball Nations League and the European Championship in 2023 and took the country to the semifinals of the Olympic Games for the first time in the following year in Paris.

Arguably the biggest name of her generation in the country, the 25-year-old Vargas was a difference-maker against the Japanese, delivering her strongest performance in her first World Championship appearance with Türkiye (she represented Cuba in 2014) and leaving the court with 28 points (26 kills, one block, one ace).

Captain Eda Erdem and Ebrar Karakurt also played major roles in the Turkish victory, with each of them contributing 13 points – the middle blocker registered nine kills and four blocks, while the outside hitter tallied 11 kills and two blocks.

“In the last two points, I was really sure we were going to win the match because we had made a great comeback and couldn’t lose after that,” setter Cansu Özbay reacted. “We always put our souls on the court and we showed again who we are. I’m very proud of the team. It feels like a dream, I don’t think I can understand what we just achieved right now. But we’ll forget this match very soon and focus on the final.”

Türkiye’s blocking power ended up making the difference for the Europeans, who outscored the Asians in that category by 12 points to six. There was balance in the other areas of the game, with Türkiye leading in kills (58 to 55), Japan having the edge in aces (five to four) and each team producing 19 points in opponents’ errors.

On the Japanese side, opposite Yukiko Wada continued to play a very high level and was the team’s leading scorer in the semifinal duel against Türkiye, tallying 22 points (19 kills, two aces, one block). Star outside hitter and team captain Mayu Ishikawa came next, with 19 (17 kills, two aces).

“We lost the match today, but we still have a chance to get a medal,” Ishikawa remarked. “Unfortunately, at the end of the sets we couldn’t score the points we needed to win, and that’s an area where we need to improve for tomorrow.”

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

On Sunday, the Asians will try to return to the World Championship podium for the first time since 2010, when they won bronze, the most recent of their seven medals in the tournament.

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