Defending champion Russia beat Brazil in the final on Sunday in Tokyo to win the gold medal at the Women’s World Volleyball Championship.
Turkey lost in straight sets (25-23, 25-20, 25-21) to Italy in the fifth place game to finish sixth, its best result in women’s world volleyball events. The Russian women rallied for a 3-2 (21-25, 25-17, 20-25, 25-14, 15-11) win over Olympic champion Brazil to capture its second straight world title. Ekaterina Gamova led the Russians with 35 points. Sheilla Castro had a team-high 26 for Brazil. Japan upset the United States 3-2 (18-25, 25-23, 21-25, 25-19, 15-8) to win the bronze medal. Yukiko Ebata led host Japan with 28 points.
Neslihan Darnell, the leading scorer for the tournament, posted 17 for Turkley against Italy, but it was not enough to stop the Italians. Leading the Italian team in scoring was Serena Ortolani who posted 17, while Simona Gioli supported with 13 of her own, including four blocks. Antonella Del Core chipped in 10.
Neslihan Darnell, the leading scorer for the tournament, posted 17 for Turkley against Italy, but it was not enough to stop the Italians. Leading the Italian team in scoring was Serena Ortolani who posted 17, while Simona Gioli supported with 13 of her own, including four blocks. Antonella Del Core chipped in 10.Turkey coach Mehmet Bedestenlioğlu congratulated the Italian team for its performance. “We made many mistakes attacking today,” he said after the game. “Once we made mistakes our performance went down. I am of course sad with the result of this match, but generally I am happy with our performance during the championship as a team. And I am happy about being sixth.”
Turkey captain Esra Gümüş said Turkey’s energy against Italy was down. “Maybe we could have had a chance if we had played more aggressive,” she said.
Also on Sunday, Germany edged Serbia in a tight four-set contest (20-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-23) to win the battle for seventh spot at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
Both teams had lost their previous matches against Turkey and Italy respectively, but the Germans bounced back with the help of an incredible show of scoring power from Margareta Kozuch, who delivered 29 points. Maren Brinker and Corina Ssuschke totalled 13 and 10 respectively in the winning effort while Christiane Furst had five blocks among her eight points.
