Sultans of the Net delight record crowd to retain EuroVolley crown and qualify for LA28

With the incredible energy and support of the 17,299 people in the stands, hosts Türkiye fought back twice from a set down in the gold medal match of the CEV Trendyol EuroVolley 2026 Women to retain the title they had claimed three years ago in Brussels and crown themselves back-to-back European champions and qualify also for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Even though Italy looked like a truly dominant force in sets 1 and 3, Türkiye showed remarkable mental strength to respond each time they found themselves trailing in the game before delivering a masterclass of a performance in the tiebreak, much courtesy of eventual Most Valuable Player Melissa Vargas. Türkiye are the first team to become European champions on home soil since Serbia had achieved this feat in Belgrade in 2011. 

Italy vs. Türkiye 2-3 (25-16, 22-25, 25-12, 21-25, 10-15) 

Team Italy had promised they would have taken the energy of the Turkish crowd as an extra motivation to deliver a performance to remember and the Azzurre looked composed and confident as they ruled the opening set of the grand finale, with Ekaterina Antropova setting the tone with two aces in the early stages and even though Türkiye closed in at 6-5, that was the last time the home side could keep the pace of the reigning Olympic and World champions. With their setter Alessia Orro behind the service line, Italy secured point after point to move the score from 11-8 to 18-9. A mighty block on Melissa Vargas (20-11) was followed by more actions as Italy’s block and defence controlled Türkiye’s attackers and Anna Danesi closed the set with a compelling 25-16 score. 

Pre-match Danesi had declared that their previous major successes would not mean much anymore at this stage as she and her teammates live rather in the present with ‘here and now’ their mantra, and the mix of confidence and composure displayed in the previous set was for everyone to see again. With the help of Egonu, Italy moved the score from 7-5 to 12-6 but Türkiye responded much to the delight of the audience to close in at 12-11 thereby prompting the first Italian timeout since the start of the match. Italy did not crumble even though their stability in reception was no more there and had another run to make it 15-12. A successful challenge helped Türkiye restore equality at 15-all and another one reversed a decision of the referee against the home side before the hosts claimed their first lead in the match with a block for 21-20. Antropova sent the ball out of bounds for 22-20 in favour of the home side and the audience erupted when Türkiye secured the set with Vargas (25-22). 

Italy looked unfazed by this setback and started the third set with a terrific 8-2 run following the return to the court of Egonu and Orro, who had been replaced towards the end of the previous set. Türkiye’s head coach Daniele Santarelli brought back to the court Derya Cebecioglu who had played a pivotal role in their comeback in set 2 but Italy stayed in control in front of 17,299 loud spectators that had come together for the final act of this year’s EuroVolley Women. They slowly but surely continued to extend their advantage (20-9) and never looked back as they sealed a more than commanding 25-12 win. 

A phenomenal 10-3 run for Türkiye early in the fourth set revived the enthusiasm of the crowd and a time-out asked by Velasco could not stop the Sultans of the Net from moving the score to 14-7 in their favour. Italy seemed to regain composure as they closed in at 14-10 to force a Turkish timeout and after the game resumed, Vargas was blocked for 14-11. Italy’s threat was becoming more and more concrete at 17-16 but Türkiye did not falter with Hande Baladin closing a spectacular rally for 22-18. With their 5-2 series, the hosts paved their way towards the tiebreak – with Vargas scoring the next point. Italy cancelled a number of set points but Elif Sahin made it 25-21 – so a tiebreak would decide the outcome of the match, just like in the 2025 edition of the World Championship where these teams had stood against each other in the final.  

Türkiye took the boost from the fourth set into the tiebreak where even an injury to Zehra Günes who had to leave the court for a short while did not deter them. Melissa Vargas and Eda Erdem took their team by the hand scoring four points apiece as the hosts rushed to a 15-10 win that got the party started in Istanbul. Vargas and Egonu equalled each other in terms of points scored (28) but Vargas was the one to celebrate in the end together with the other Sultans of the Net. 

All-Star Team 

Opposite: Melissa Vargas (Türkiye) 
Setter: Alessia Orro (Italy) 
Libero: Gizem Örge (Türkiye) 
Middle blocker: Hena Kurtagic (Serbia) 
Middle blocker: Zehra Günes (Türkiye) 
Outside Hitter: Myriam Sylla (Italy) 
Outside Hitter: Derya Cebecioglu (Türkiye) 
Coach: Daniele Santarelli (ITA/Türkiye)  
MVP: Melissa Vargas (Türkiye)