Turkey wins Women's VNL after defeating Brazil in thrilling final match
Turkey defeated Brazil 3-1 to win the 2025 Women's Volleyball Nations League title after a tightly contested final match at the East Asian Games Dome in Macau, China.
Brazil took the opening set 25-23 before Turkey responded by winning the next two sets 25-23 and 26-24. Turkey sealed the victory with a 25-21 win in the fourth set, claiming its second VNL title after its triumph in 2023.
Turkey's Cuban-born opposite hitter Melissa Vargas was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player (MVP).
"It was a great match. I want to say thank you to all Turkish fans," she said in a post match interview.
'We are proud'
Turkey captain and libero Gizem Örge burst into tears after the match. Speaking through tears in a post-match interview, she said she was "really proud of the team" and revealed that she had played despite severe pain in her knee.
"We love you very much. We are coming home with the trophy," she said.
Trinidadian and Tobagonian-born middle blocker Sinead Jack-Kısal also thanked the fans. "We are up, we are down but people support us all the time," she said.
She then addressed the fans in Turkish, saying, "We are very happy today. Thank you."
Middle blocker Zehra Güneş said, "Brazil is a very good team. We are very happy for the win."
About her emotional reaction following the win, she said, "Tension was very high. [Crying] made me relaxed."
Hitter Hande Baladın remarked, “I’m very happy with both my and the team’s performance. We are very proud.”
The players said they will now prepare for the upcoming European Championship to take place in Turkey, Azerbaijan, Czech Republic and Sweden.
Head coach Daniele Santarelli, who has won his fourth title with the national team, said, “Brazil is an amazing team. They never give up. Whenever we had the control of the match they recovered.”
“So many people criticize us in Turkey. Many criticize my decisions but I’m trying to do the best for Turkey,” he said.
Match recap
Brazil opened the match with a 4-1 lead, but Turkey drew level at 7-7 with points from attacks and blocks. After a stretch in which neither side led by more than a point, Melissa Vargas put Turkey ahead for the first time in the set at 11-10. Brazil then pulled away, opening a five-point advantage at 22-17. Although Turkey narrowed the gap late in the set, Brazil held on to win it 25-23.
Brazil also made the better start to the second set, taking a 6-3 lead with points through the middle. Turkey responded with a four-point run, helped by Zehra Güneş's serves and İlkin Aydın's points from attacks and blocks, to move ahead 7-6. The Turkish side extended its lead to 15-11 and later went up 20-17 with points from Vargas. Brazil answered with three straight points to tie the score at 21-21, but Turkey finished the set with three consecutive points of its own to win 25-23 and level the match at 1-1.
Turkey led 5-3 early in the third set before Brazil put together a five-point run, largely thanks to its blocking, to make it 8-5. After a period marked by errors from both teams, Turkey equalized at 14-14. The teams traded points for the remainder of the set, and Brazil drew level again at 24-24. Turkey won the next two points to take the set 26-24 and move ahead 2-1.
Turkey started the fourth set strongly, opening an 8-2 lead. Brazil improved both in attack and defense to cut the deficit to 15-13. With Ana Cristina matching Vargas' scoring, Brazil overturned the score to lead 19-18. Turkey, however, made no mistakes in the closing stages and won the set 25-21 to claim the 2026 FIVB Volleyball Nations League title.
Melissa Vargas was the match's top scorer with 33 points, while Ana Cristina scored 25 for Brazil.
Celebrations after the match
