Eurovolley 2023

    Congratulations for Turkiye:cup: Finally they take ECH gold. This country deserved for gold medal because of all supporters and everything what is going on around volleyball:drink:

    Congratulations also for Serbia for fighting to the end. This game was so crazy:cheesy:

    What a game yesterday!! I never ever could've imagine a 3-0 against Italy, and we got 12 important points for the world ranking. Italy looked dead with no fire in their eyes at all. There's always drama around them and most girls deserve better than that. I really can't imagine threating your superstar opposite like this


    And another great game by Marrit Jasper. She finally got the opportunty to be more than a serve/backrow sub and she took it with both hands. We're also so lucky with our middle blockers. The gap Belien and De Kruijf left is unoticable, there is no gap actually.


    The final was great to watch as well. What else could one wish for than an exciting 5 set match? Turkey is the well deserved winner of the tournament. My personal dream team would be:


    S: Ognjenovic (showed she still has it. Turned around the match against NED on her own, while being sick)

    OH: Daalderop, Karakurt (hate to admit it but her performance was outstanding for someone who switched positions so recent)

    MB: Eda, Lohuis

    OP: Boskovic

    L: Gizem


    Can't wait for Olympic Qualifiers starting in a few weeks!

    It was a euphoric night for Turkish volleyball followers last night. It wasn't only a historical success for the country but also a slap in the face to islamic extremists who had the audacity to say that queer people shouldn't represent our NT (those dumbasses are against women wearing shorts anyways 🤦) Turkish volleyball team is right now the symbol of secular and progressive Turkey. This victory made a lot of Turkish people who lost their hopes for their country smile once again:rose:


    About the game;


    Santarelli 'the Midas' keeps turning everything he touches into gold😍 not only he is a mastermind in volleyball tactics but also he created a great chemistry in the team on the contrary of Guidetti 'the Gargamel' s toxic attitude, both inside and outside of the court 😒

    My only criticism to him:

    1-he should start trusting Elif more, she is only 22 years old, she has a great raw talent, she just needs to grow by getting experience on international level. By all respect to Cansu, her role in the team should be a backup player who would come in once in a while Elif struggles, as I mentioned after semis, Cansu's block liability was a huge problem for turkey again. Busa, who's normally not a good attacker, scored a lot because of Cansu's lack of blocking🤦

    2-hande has contributed a lot at both defense and reception (she was covering Ebrar a lot) however she still doesn't have the mental strength to attack at clutch points. Santa should have replaced her with either Derya or Ilkin after Hande was making so many crucial mistakes in a row

    3- He shouldnt have replaced Gizem with Simge. Only explanation I could come up with is maybe he wanted to show Guidetti how we could have lost the game if he would be fool enough to use simge as libero in this tournament 🤣


    Setters:

    Elif is really turning into a great setter, she still lacks international experience but you can see the raw talent. Her block and serves were very helpful for turkey's comeback during both at semis and final game.

    Libero:

    Obviously Vargas's addition to team was phenomenal but Gizem's comeback to NT was as important. Simge has been trolling our defense line for last two years🤦 the unjust treatment Gizem got from guidetti was unforgivable, we could have reached a lot more in last couple of yours if Gizem was in NT. She was just amazing, best libero of tournament hands down.

    Middles:

    Zehra is the queen!!! I don't remember 100% attack +3 crucial blocks from any middles at a final:white: this will be a historical performance to be remembered. She proved once again she is one of the best middles in the world, probably best:obey:

    Eda's leadership and attitude is the glue for the team. Although it wasn't her best tournament overall, she showed up when it mattered the most(5 beautiful blocks😍). She should get all the medals she can before she retires:heart:

    Outsides:

    Hande performed very well in the backgrow, however her unforced errors at clutch points make people forget her contribution. I think she should have been replaced after second set, Santa tolerated her way too much. On the other hand, Ebrar killed a lot of crucial balls although her overall attack ratio wasn't high. As much as she gets the negative criticism, she should get also the appraisal for her amazing development as OH (only one I remember who did something similar in such a short amount of time is Mari). Again, I don't approve her rude attitude towards opponent, I would condemn it if it was done towards turkey however ebrar will be an iconic figure in volleyball this decade, not only because of her antics but also her volleyball skills!

    Opposite:

    Vargas has been underestimated by many because she lacked international success and she wasn't considered as great as bosko or Egonu but after vnl, one more time she proved that she is the best opposite hitter in the world right now:obey: her serves, her oos attacks, her mental strength at clutch points are amazing. So happy to have her in our NT. She is loved by whole country dearly❤️


    Last but not least to Serbia:

    Congratulations to whole team! A final is only great if losing team puts a great fight and they definitely did! Losing at tiebreaker 15-13 is a bitch🥺 I would have hated too. I know I criticized boskoball a lot already, but this time it was even too much for Serbian standards 54% of the sets went to Bosko whereas 'only' 47% of the sets went to Vargas, just as a reference. I blame Maja for that. She could have set many balls to outsides while their hands were hot but she still pushed Boskoball🤦 by the way what's wrong with boskovic's serves, her toss looks amateurishly bad. On the other hand her defense was just top notch! Vargas hit consistently towards her and she defended them like a Boss! Huge respect! Seeing her crying during the interviews broke my heart, but she has enough medals, let Vargas have some too😜

    My dream team would be:


    Best setter Elif: although she didn't play full time, she made the difference

    Best libero: Gizem, obviously

    Best opposite: Vargas (I don't like it when MVP is not getting her award for best of her own position, just doesn't make any sense

    Best outsides: Ebrar and Nika/Jasper

    Best middles: Zehra and Baijens


    Sorry but no one stand out from Serbia except Boskovic considering semi and final games🤷

    Quote from Rhaemon

    is this true???

    I really feel sorry for Paola. One of the best Opp in the world and she is mistreated by Mazzanti and others ;(

    Busa deserves a spot

    Quote from Madden54

    Busa deserves a spot

    I wouldn't protest if she would be elected one and that's best you could get from me😂😂😂

    Quote from Wojtek13

    I really feel sorry for Paola. One of the best Opp in the world and she is mistreated by Mazzanti and others ;(

    Egonu will not be in the list of athletes for the next OCs: this is taken for granted...

    It is not yet known if she has been excluded or if she withdrew...

    As usual, there is no official communication...

    I’m really not trying to be super shady here and start a fight. It was such a great match it’s not worth doing that but if all of y’all’s players were so great and ours were nothing special then why was it that close of a match to end 15-13 in the 5th. Surely someone from our team deserves something….

    Isn't it appropriate to also include someone from Italy?

    Maybe we deserve the prize for the coach with the dumbest smile, right?



    Here he was explaining that we lost against Turkey because of the attack and some "small inaccuracies" in some phases of the game...

    Isn't that nice?

    Does anyone want him?

    He is polite and does not dirty ...

    Quote from side.out

    No official statement yet, but you can take it for granted. And beware it's just the beginning. The morale is so low now I only wish the end of this. Just let it be over, it doesn’t matter how it ends, but let it end now.

    just when Italy's OH found their groove (Pietrini is doing well).

    I think Paola just needs a breather. she will probably be back for the actual Olympics.

    Quote from Madden54

    I’m really not trying to be super shady here and start a fight. It was such a great match it’s not worth doing that but if all of y’all’s players were so great and ours were nothing special then why was it that close of a match to end 15-13 in the 5th. Surely someone from our team deserves something….

    I didn't say they were nothing special but nobody really stood out as an

    individual except obviously Boskovic. And I didn't base my judgement only for finals but semis as well, which, to me, the most important part of the tournament (No one cares how a player played against Estonia in a group stage)


    Do you genuinely think that any Serbian middles or liberos played better than Zehra-Baijens and Gizem during semis/finals?


    Boskovic was great she was slightly worse than Vargas and as I explained I don't find it logical to call a player MVP but giving best award of her position to someone else.


    Among the outside choices: I think dutch outsides were the key to win against a heavy favourite with a 3-0 win so one of them should be among best outsides based on their impact on their team's success compared to Busa's impact. Some might disagree and it is a matter of what one values while picking 'best'. That's why, I said if Busa was picked I wouldn't have protested as if it was an unfair choice. 😊 By the way, I didn't considered the players from non-medalist teams. Otherwise Kakolewska had a great tournament as well as Pietrini 🤷