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Turkey claimed their first win at the continental Olympic qualifier in Apeldoorn. In their second match in Pool B, they came back from a set down to claim a 3-1 (26-28, 25-12, 25-20, 25-21) victory over Croatia. Towards the end of a dramatically unfolding first set, Turkey scored five consecutive points on Cansu Ozbay’s serving, to reach set point at 24-21.

Croatia, however, reacted with a series of three points to push the set into overtime. They denied two more Turkish set points before Matea Ikic crowned her great performance in the set (10 points) with two successful spikes in a row for the last two putaways – 28-26. With their backs against the wall, coach Giovanni Guidetti’s players reacted swiftly and crushed the opponents by 25-12 in the second set. Setter Cansu Ozbay continued to distribute the Turkish attacks nicely towards all spikers in the third set. After four consecutive points,

Turkey broke away with a 19-14 lead and never looked back – 25-20. Capitalising on the many unforced errors by the Croatians, the EuroVolley silver medalists stayed well in control throughout the second half of the fourth set, building up to a 25-21 close, with captain Eda Erdem Dundar hitting the winner. Middle blocker Zehra Gunes delivered six stuffs towards a match high total of 16 points. Her teammate Hande Baladin and Croatia’s Matea Ikic scored 15 each.