Turkey’s men’s national volleyball team lost 3-1 to Latvia in its final match of the CEV European Championship and exited the tournament.
Latvia takes the first set in extra points
Latvia took a 12-15 lead in the first set with points scored during its service rotation after the teams traded points. Turkey leveled the score at 21-21 with consecutive service points from Kaan Gürbüz, but Latvia won the extended set 26-24.
Turkey restores balance in the second set
Turkey opened the second set with two points won during Murat Yenipazar’s service rotation and led 11-8 in the early stages. Although Latvia leveled the score at 22-22, Turkey maintained its advantage and won the set 25-23 to make it 1-1.
Latvia established a 7-10 lead in the third set. Turkey scored five consecutive points on Murat Yenipazar’s serves to move ahead 12-10. After Latvia regained the lead with a 5-1 run, Gökçen Yüksel’s spike made it 19-19. Latvia won the extended set 26-24 after a service error by Turkey and a point from Smits.
Latvia maintains its advantage in the final set
Latvia opened the fourth set with a 9-17 lead and continued to control the game. Latvia won the set 25-16 and the match 3-1 to advance to the round of 16.
Latvia, which finished fourth in Group D, will face Poland, the Group B leader and the world’s top-ranked team, in the round of 16.
Injuries affected the squad
Turkey entered the European Championship with several key absences. Efe Mandıracı and Bedirhan Bülbül were not included in the squad because of injuries.
Adis Lagumdzija, Mirza Lagumdzija and Berkay Bayraktar, who suffered injuries during the group stage, were unable to play in some matches. Yasin Aydın, who was added to the squad from the reserve team in place of Berkay Bayraktar, played against Latvia.
