Karakurt places Türkiye closer to second phase

A stellar performance by star opposite Ebrar Karakurt placed Türkiye closer to the second phase of the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship as the Europeans prevailed over the Dominican Republic in a thriller on Wednesday, in Gdansk, Poland, to claim their second victory in the tournament.

Türkiye came back from a first-set loss to top the Caribbeans, but still needed the tie-breaker (21-25, 25-21, 25-18, 16-25, 15-13) to claim victory after more than two hours in their third Pool B match.

· Watch all FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship 2022 matches live on Volleyball TV.

With the exciting victory, the Europeans, who lost to Thailand in their opening match, but topped Korea in their second, now have six points. They are very close to ending the first phase among the four teams in their pool that will make it to the next round.

The Dominicans, who had defeated Korea and Croatia in their first matches, remain ahead of the Europeans with seven points and could secure a spot in the second phase later on Wednesday if hosts Poland top Korea 3-0 or 3-1 in their 20.30 local time (18.30 GMT) matchup.

Playing in her second World Championship, the 22-year-old Karakurt led all scorers with an impressive 29 points (28 kills, one block). The Turkish opposite scored eight of her points in the tie-breaker, including the game-winner, in a spike that was initially called out, but was reversed after a challenge request made by the Europeans showed a slight touch by the Dominican block.

“My teammates and our coaching staff believed we could win this match the entire time and I’m proud of them for fighting until the end,” Karakurt reacted. “It was a key match in our pool and I feel that now we have a good chance of finishing in one of the top two spots. We need to beat Croatia no matter what and we’ll need to push even harder against Poland because they’re playing at home. I’m happy with my individual performance, but I wouldn’t have done it without my team. I hope I can continue playing at this level.”

Besides Karakurt, head coach Giovanni Guidetti also had solid performances coming from middle blocker Zehra Gunes, who had a match-high five blocks to go with six kills, and outside hitter Hande Baladin, who left the court with ten points (eight kills, one block, one ace), the same number as team captain Eda Erdem.

Gaila Gonzalez and Brayelin Martinez split the Dominican offensive load, with each of them producing 20 points – the opposite had 16 kills, two blocks and two aces, while the outside hitter registered 18 kills, one block and one ace. Outside hitters Yonkaira Pena and Bethania De La Cruz left the court with nine and eight points, respectively.

FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship Netherlands-Poland 2022: Full schedule

Both teams will be back on the court in Gdansk on Thursday, with the Turks facing Croatia at 17.30 local time (15.30 GMT) and the Dominicans playing against hosts Poland at 20.30 local time (18.30 GMT). The day at the Ergo Arena will begin at 14.00 local time (12.00 GMT) with an encounter between Asian rivals Korea and Thailand.

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FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship Netherlands Poland 2022
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