Germany and Türkiye advance to #EuroVolleyW quarterfinals
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After a rather shaky start to the competition with a heavy loss to Slovenia, Germany continue to improve with each match and on Tuesday they secured their spot in the quarterfinals after a drama-filled 3-2 victory over Pool C winners Belgium. With this, Germany repeated a result from the 2013 semi-final – which had ended with the same score in Berlin. Rising star Leana Grozer was the real standout player for Germany scoring as many as 14 points in the fourth and fifth sets combined towards a total of 28 points across the match. Later in the evening, hosts and defending champions Türkiye looked in full control as they stormed to a comprehensive 3-0 victory over their neighbours from Azerbaijan to secure the right to play Germany for a spot in the semis.
Belgium vs. Germany 2-3 (25-20, 21-25, 20-25, 27-25, 8-15)
The first match contested on Tuesday in Istanbul was filled with drama from start to end with Germany eventually prolonging their positive streak in matchups with Belgium, which has been lasting since 2013 to make it 13 wins in a row across international competitions. However, this was far from the routine 3-0 victory that Germany had secured earlier this season in the Volleyball Nations League – and coincidentally that match was played in Türkiye as well, albeit in Ankara.
As they had travelled to Istanbul on the back of five wins in a row from the pool phase played in Baku, the Yellow Tigers looked confident as they set the pace from the early stages of the opening set. Even though Germany slowly but surely found their rhythm, Belgium eventually claimed a 25-20 win with Tea Radovic, Pauline Martin and Britt Herbots playing a pivotal role. However, Belgium suffered a setback towards the end of the second set following the injury suffered by Liese Verhelst even though Germany had looked like the dominant force there. Verhelst was taken off the court as silence fell inside the arena and as action resumed, Germany powered to a 25-21 win to level the count.
The rollercoaster of a match continued in the third and especially in the fourth sets. While Germany looked in full control in the third with Lina Alsmeier and Leana Grozer producing six and four points, respectively, Belgium regrouped in the fourth and it looked like the match was heading towards a tiebreaker. However, Germany showed their indomitable spirit and fought back to make up for their large gap and eventually had two match points – which they failed to capitalise on though. This setback did not deter them at all – after a close start up to 5-all, Team Germany were in full control of the tiebreak and even though Belgium briefly stayed in the game following a video challenge, it did not take long for Germany to celebrate their 3-2 win and progression to the quarterfinals. Youngster Leana Grozer amassed an incredible tally of 28 points, including nine in the fourth set alone and another five in the tiebreak. Pauline Martin responded with 23 points for Belgium in their losing effort.
Leana Grozer“What a crazy match this was with so many ups and downs, a real rollercoaster! Belgium fought incredibly well but I must admit that even though we did not use our chances to close the game in the fourth set, we took the positive feeling from our comeback there into the tiebreak. It was not a setback at all, as we actually told ourselves that we had to resume and continue the same way, playing with the same intensity and emotion. And yes, I’d hope that my dad is proud of me tonight.”
Player of Germany
Türkiye vs. Azerbaijan 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-22)
Some 8,100 fans came together at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall for a ‘derby’ featuring two nations sharing strong cultural and historical bonds – as well as the same passion for women’s Volleyball. Shortly before the match, the organisers celebrated the members of the Turkish national team that only a few days ago secured the gold medal from the Volleyball competition run in conjunction with the Mediterranean Games 2026 in Taranto, Italy.
The matchup with Azerbaijan coincided with the return to the court of the charismatic Turkish captain Eda Erdem, making her 10th EuroVolley appearance, an all-time record she shares with Serbia’s legendary setter Maja Ognjenovic. Erdem was yet to take to the court since the start of the competition and she did so right from the first rally eventually scoring nine points – all from spikes – by the time the match ended 79 minutes later. This fixture was special in many ways, also because Azerbaijan’s superstar Polina Rahimova contested her last match with the national team after a glorious career, receiving a bouquet of flowers from her teammates and coaching staff to mark the moment. In her last appearance with the shirt of Team Azerbaijan, Rahimova top scored for her side with 12 points, as Melissa Vargas registered 16 for Türkiye. Even though Azerbaijan put up a fight and mounted a couple of comebacks, the match was fairly one-sided with Türkiye’s supremacy clearly obvious. To display their friendship, the players of both teams posed for a group picture at the end of the match together with the President of the Turkish Volleyball Federation, Mehmet Akif Üstündag. The fans did not only celebrate their team’s 3-0 win but also threw up an informal party for Hande Baladin’s 29th birthday.
Türkiye will return to the court on Thursday to play Germany for a spot in the semis in a repeat of a Pool A fixture that ended 3-1 in their favour.
Melissa Vargas“It is always glorious to play in front of such an audience and for them. We had a good match and we now look forward to playing Germany in the quarterfinals. This was the sort of performance that we needed after losing to Poland in the last match of the pool phase.”
Player of Türkiye
