Volleyball royalty to shine in #EuroVolleyW semis

Real Volleyball royalty attended Friday’s press conference held right on the field of play at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall in advance of Saturday’s CEV Trendyol EuroVolley 2026 Women semi-final matches. The coaches and captains of the four teams still in contention for continental glory and a coveted ticket to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games looked determined and cautious at the same time, emphasising that they would continue to take it one match at a time.  

Serbia and Türkiye will play the first semi-final at 4 pm local time in Istanbul in a repeat of the 2023 gold medal match contested in Brussels – when Türkiye made history by securing their very first title in the competition. Türkiye’s captain Eda Erdem and her Serbian counterpart Maja Ognjenovic have written history through their tenth EuroVolley participation – a feat that speaks volumes for their longevity at the highest level of the game. They both acknowledged the strength of the opponent – with Erdem praising the way her team has managed to evolve and develop since the start of the competition on home soil. Ognjenovic, on the other hand, stressed that it still remains a privilege to play for the national team even after so many years and the motivation remains the same as what she felt when she first wore that jersey in 2005. Türkiye’s head coach Daniele Santarelli accepted that playing on home soil implies additional pressure – and stressed that even though Türkiye won the Volleyball Nations League earlier this year, this championship is a whole different story and previous results – including the 3-2 win from 2023 – do not count at all. Zoran Terzic, who has returned to guide Serbia to contest his eleventh EuroVolley, thus equalling the record of Russian legend Nikolay Karpol, admitted things have changed with generations passing – and yet they have been working hard and methodically to stay focussed and prepare the best they can for the semi with Türkiye. This match will coincide with the 77th fixture for Terzic at EuroVolley – a record on its own. 

The second semi-final will see reigning Olympic and World champions Italy play Poland. Magdalena Stysiak, who captains the White-and-Reds, said her team is young and yet very ambitious. Their wish is to secure Poland’s first medal since 2009 and possibly even the first gold since back-to-back titles were won in 2003 and 2005. She and her teammates have been preparing for this under the guidance of Stefano Lavarini, who has been at the helm of Team Poland for a few years now after previously coaching the Korean national team. Lavarini knows many of the Italian players very well from his experience in the national league. Italy’s captain Anna Danesi said she is still fairly new to such a role compared to the likes of Erdem and Ognjenovic and she is trying to absorb as much as possible from such legends. Legendary is the only appellative that may aptly describe Italy’s head coach Julio Velasco, who has now become the sole to reach the EuroVolley semis in the men’s as well as in the women’s competition. Many years have passed since the glorious days with I Fenomeni of the late 80s and early 90s – and Velasco insisted that even though Italy are the Olympic and World champions, further success will only come if there is no obligation to win felt by his players. They should be free from the pressure resulting from their previous achievements and possibly ignore even the WhatsApp messages of encouragement dropped by their mammas… 

With such a royal panel of players and coaches standing next to the glittering EuroVolley trophy, the anticipation and excitement ahead of the semi-final and medal matches grows with each minute. The organisers expect a full house on Saturday for the semis – and a Volleyball show of the highest calibre as superstars such as Melissa Vargas, Tijana Boskovic, Paola Egonu and Stysiak herself will take to the court.