Poland and Türkiye progress to EuroVolley semis to play Italy and Serbia

On Thursday, Poland reached the CEV Trendyol EuroVolley 2026 Women semi-finals following a 3-1 victory over the Netherlands after a closely contested match where the White-and-Reds did shine at the net with a tally of 17 blocks, including five apiece for Maja Koput and Magdalena Jurczyk. This is Poland’s first victory over the Netherlands at EuroVolley since 1983 – thereby breaking a streak of fourth straight wins for the Oranjes that had lasted ever since. Poland have secured their first semi-final appearance since the 2019 edition when they finished fourth in Ankara as they vie for their first medal since winning bronze in 2009. The fourth and last quarterfinal featured hosts and defending champions Türkiye versus Germany in a repeat of a pool phase match won by the Sultans of the Net (3-1) with the game finishing with the same score. On Saturday, Türkiye will play Serbia in the first semi-final at 4 pm local time in a repeat of the 2023 gold medal match that the hosts won 3-2. 

Poland vs. The Netherlands 3-1 (25-16, 20-25, 25-20, 25-23) 

Two teams that have been leading the way in women’s Volleyball for many years were the first to contest a quarterfinal fixture at the iconic Sinan Erdem Sports Hall in Istanbul. Poland could start this game on the back of three straight wins over the Oranjes in their last encounters – all in the Volleyball Nations League – and yet they had to find a way to stop a positive run in EuroVolley fixtures for their opponents encompassing as many as four matches between 2009 and 2015. The Dutch side, again dressed in blue as in their previous game with Slovenia, caught a good start but Poland soon found their rhythm (12-8, 15-10) with good work at the net (six blocks by the end of the set). Felix Koslowski changed a number of his starting players – but could not achieve the desired outcome as Poland continued to play with much consistency across all areas of the game and eventually secured a comfortable 25-16 win. 

The Netherlands managed to secure an 8-6 lead in the second set but Poland responded swiftly to level the score at 8-all. As the set progressed, the Oranjes stabilised their game, as their block-defence worked better and better, and they found more regularly a way through the still imposing Polish block. They broke away at 22-18 and never looked back as they pocketed the set 25-20 with Elles Dambrink (8 points), Marrit Jasper (5), and Helena Kok (5) as their leading players and scorers. 

The White-and-Reds looked undeterred after this setback and they re-started their quest for a spot in the EuroVolley semis with remarkable composure and resilience. They seized the initiative from the very beginning of the third set and they did not relinquish it at any time. Their advantage was consistent throughout the set as their block was again a major asset (six stuffs vs four for the Netherlands) and Julita Piasecka confirmed her key role for the team by scoring as many as seven points on her own.  

Everyone had expected this match to be a close affair and so it was. Both teams started the fourth set with much impetus and the score remained levelled at 10-all. The duel between the respective scoring machines, Magdalena Stysiak and Elles Dambrink, was highly engaging and as Poland broke away, the Oranjes responded immediately, prompting a Polish timeout at 17-17. The Dutch team scored the next two points and a tiebreaker was in sight as they were 21-18 up but the contribution of sub-in Julia Szczurowska proved highly important as Poland stormed back to 21-all. The same player scored the next point for 22-21 in favour of Poland for a 4-0 run by the White-and-Reds and the last few rallies were a bit chaotic on the Dutch side of the net, with Poland eventually celebrating a 3-1 win. Stysiak and Piasecka top scored for Poland with 14 points apiece as Dambrink registered the most of all in the match with 18. 

Germany vs. Türkiye 1-3 (18-25, 25-22, 18-25, 22-25) 

Earlier in the competition, Türkiye had beaten Germany 3-1 in a very competitive Pool A match. It did not take long for superstar Melissa Vargas to score two aces in a row and ignite the enthusiasm and passion of the Turkish crowd but after trailing heavily, Germany slowly but surely found their rhythm to close in (9-11). Still, the home side looked extremely consistent and solid and with another push they stormed to a 16-10 lead which paved the way for a 25-18 set win propelled by Vargas (eight points) and Ilkin Aydin (seven), who scored the last point to spark the celebrations.

Germany responded in emphatic style with a terrific 8-2 run in the early stages of the second set, including an incredibly impressive block stamped by Anastasia Cekulaev on Vargas. Türkiye enjoyed a similar streak to reduce their deficit to two points only (11-9) but this is where Germany rose to the occasion (16-10), buoyed also by some errors on the Turkish side of the net. Türkiye’s charismatic captain Eda Erdem – who admitted she could not even dream in the early years of her career that she would have played at ten editions of the continental flagship event – scored a few times to support her side’s quest for a comeback but Germany remained composed even under pressure with spectacular defence combined with strong attacks resulting in a 25-22 win. 

Germany could not quite keep the same pace in the third set where Vargas (five points) and Eda Erdem (five) delivered a real show much to the delight of the 12,314 spectators in attendance. The home side stormed to a 14-7 lead and even though Germany worked hard to close their gap, they never quite succeeded in doing so and their head coach Giulio Bregoli even brought in some of their sub-ins such as Hanna Orthmann in an effort to regroup and put up more of a fight. That was all in vain since Erdem closed the set with a mighty block for a 25-18 score in favour of the reigning European champions. 

Türkiye was in control mode in the fourth set (12-8) but Germany were not ready to surrender just yet. They fought back from 13-16 to 16-all before Melissa Vargas delivered another show of strength with three points in a row (19-16). This was the moment that essentially decided the fate of the match – even though there was some more drama in store. Eda Erdem had initially secured the victory before a net fault was identified via a German challenge and Germany continued to resist until the hosts sealed their 3-1 win (25-22). Vargas was the real match winner for Türkiye as she finished the match on a personal tally of 26 points, including a massive 12 in the fourth set alone.