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- October 13, 202619°
Turkish Men's Volleyball Team Takes Historic Quarterfinal Step in Nations League
Turkey's national men's volleyball team reached the quarterfinals for the first time in the 2026 VNL finals.
The Turkish National Men's Volleyball Team achieved historic success in the 2026 FIVB Men's Nations League (VNL) finals. The Crescent-Stars will take the stage for the first time at this stage in the quarterfinal match against Slovenia tomorrow at 10:00 AM Turkish time. The 2026 final phase of the event, held at the Beilun Sports Hall in Ningbo, China, will take place from July 29 to August 2.
The national team won 8 of its 12 group matches throughout the season, finishing sixth in the standings. This performance marked the team's highest win total in VNL history. Turkey, which won only 1 match in its debut in 2024 and 3 in 2025, made a major leap this season. In the quarterfinals, the national team was paired with Slovenia, one of the tournament's experienced sides. Slovenia has won the last 5 official meetings between the two teams, and if the Crescent-Stars break that streak and win, they will face the winner of the Poland-Ukraine matchup in the semifinals. The semifinals will be played on Saturday, August 1, and the third-place match and final on Sunday, August 2.
The impact of Serbian head coach Kovac
Head coach Slobodan Kovac, who took over in July 2025, has played a major role in the national team's rise. The Serbian coach, who previously won league titles with Halkbank and the Turkish Cup with Fenerbahçe, led the national team to the quarterfinals for the first time in the 2025 World Championship and the 2026 VNL.
Squad
Turkey's roster for the final phase consists of the following players:
- Setter: Murat Yenipazar, Hilmi Şahin
- Opposite: Adis Lagumdzija, Kaan Gürbüz
- Outside Hitter: Gökçen Yüksel, Efe Bayram, Mirza Lagumdzija, Cafer Kirkit
- Middle Blocker: Bedirhan Bülbül, Ahmet Tümer, Marko Matic, Ahmet Samet Baltacı
- Libero: Berkay Bayraktar, Abdulsamet Yalçın
Quarterfinal schedule
In addition to tomorrow's matches, the quarterfinal draw is as follows:
10:00 Slovenia vs Turkey
14:30 Japan vs China
Thursday, July 30:
10:00 Italy vs USA
14:30 Poland vs Ukraine
VNL history highlights
The most successful team in the tournament is Poland, with two golds, one silver and three bronze medals. France follows with two golds, one silver and one bronze, and Russia with two golds. Outside these teams, the only other country to win a championship was Brazil in 2021. The tournament was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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