Turkey - Vodafone Sultanlar Ligi 2023-2024

    Vakif is in real trouble now imo. Today Ecza played amazing as a team and everyone contributed. I’ll say that’s not likely to happen again but since it did now Ecza has 2 chances to finish it off and Boskovic has shown she can beat vakifbank nearly by herself if they need her too in one of those matches

    I'm gonna say it: I agree with USAVF AND... I think Vakif took notes bcs even though there aren't many big names and there is the issue of the foreigners limit, I think next seasons squad is complementing each other very well

    You forget about Busa😂 but overall agreed. Thompson's capacity is well known so I don't understand how come Guidetti couldn't see that. He overestimated either Thompson or frantti's offense power while gathering this lineup. Because besides zehra's bad shape (by the way she was okay today) nothing in Vakıfbank is a surprise to me. This was something a lot of people including me said before even start of the season. This roster was doomed to be 3rd and even 4th if ze was not using thy as Brazilian NT camp

    Quote from Altinli

    I'm gonna say it: I agree with USAVF AND... I think Vakif took notes bcs even though there aren't many big names and there is the issue of the foreigners limit, I think next seasons squad is complementing each other very well

    I don't think next season will be great neither. They will have problems because of foreign limit again. Both of their opps will be foreigners and 3 of outsides (we don't even know if Derya is staying and even if she stays with her current shape, she is of no use) so they will have to play with local setter and both MBs.

    Why would frantti's job is to carry the team offensively? Like literally she had 13pts in 3 sets 53% 🤣 isn't it the main job of the opposite good or bad reception to make points? And are we not calling out gabi for this match too? Lol 😂


    I don't call them weak, they are not just missing elite opposite who can carry the team. For past season they were literally been on top because of haak and egonu. You think those two if they'd stay with vakifbank they are still weak? I don't think so.

    Quote from serdar

    You forget about Busa😂 but overall agreed. Thompson's capacity is well known so I don't understand how come Guidetti couldn't see that. He overestimated either Thompson or frantti's offense power while gathering this lineup. Because besides zehra's bad shape (by the way she was okay today) nothing in Vakıfbank is a surprise to me. This was something a lot of people including me said before even start of the season. This roster was doomed to be 3rd and even 4th if ze was not using thy as Brazilian NT camp

    Of course Busa yeah.. totally forgot to mention her. If she was passing as she should, and Cansu made Zehra and Chi a real threat at the net, things would be easier for JT and Vakif.. I didn’t imagine Vakif performing this weak TBH.. I knew Egonu was a big loss, but these results are simply embarrassing

    Quote from Kostlich

    Why would frantti's job is to carry the team offensively? Like literally she had 13pts in 3 sets 53% 🤣 isn't it the main job of the opposite good or bad reception to make points? And are we not calling out gabi for this match too? Lol 😂


    I don't call them weak, they are not just missing elite opposite who can carry the team. For past season they were literally been on top because of haak and egonu. You think those two if they'd stay with vakifbank they are still weak? I don't think so.

    Because with an OPP who's not a dominant, one OH has to be, the other has to be the receiver.. she’s not the receiver so …

    And also I literally called out JT. She can’t score out of system.. so knowing that before signing her, one would think the other players wouldn’t be able to compensate that

    All I’m saying is, it’s a bad mix of players, and some of them are underperforming of course

    Quote from USAvolleyfan

    Because with an OPP who's not a dominant, one OH has to be, the other has to be the receiver.. she’s not the receiver so …

    And also I literally called out JT. She can’t score out of system.. so knowing that before signing her, one would think the other players wouldn’t be able to compensate that

    All I’m saying is, it’s a bad mix of players, and some of them are underperforming of course

    JT is not dominant and can't play oos. Why is she playing opposite by the way? Lol if she can't deliver i think gio should let her or busa out of squad next match and let Ogbogu play. 😂

    I am not convinced Vakif will be strong next season. Reflecting on Markova’s run in Novara, she’s been more of a liability than asset as OH1. Her pass and defense are reminiscent of Gray, which can completely prevent a team from getting side out rhythm. I don’t think she is going to be the silver bullet everyone believes (or maybe everyone is just hoping the 2m “new” kid can become a savior…?). Bosetti could bring some reception and defense stability as OH, but she will not be a 1-to-1 replacement to Gabi. Maybe Frantti can improve but still, the main problem preventing Vakif from taking trophies is the lack of a big four OPP who can carry the team. And without Gabi, and no big powerhouse OH (like an Arina or a Plummer), it is even more critical to have a big four OPP. KVR is a slight upgrade from JT but KVR will not carry the team. And Zehra has to get back into a good shape and complement Ogbogu because so far this season, Zehra has mostly been a ghost in block and predictable or ineffective at attack. I hope she will be healthy and confident for Paris and VNL, like she was in the NT last summer. Guidetti really fucked himself when he got greedy, trading Haak for Egonu.


    Two ideas:


    1 - Abandon Bosetti and go for a more power attacking OH which is also solid in pass and defense. I think of Skinner or Sorokaite. Just unsure if they would fit well in Vakif’s offense system… they are also probably signed for next season already.


    2 - Another idea - and it’s a big gamble - but it worked for Novara in the second Chieri match a few days ago… consider Markova in the OPP position, although I’ve only seen her play OPP in one match. But she delivered…

    I think strong serve pressure from Eczacıbaşı made an impact today. As I mentioned before both Elif and Beyza are good float servers and eczacibasi got good series whenever they were serving.


    Kudos to both hande and Voronkova, both have been playing very good this season. They are complementing each other very well. It is a pity that Eczacıbaşı didn't renew her. I hope she will stay in Turkish league (maybe GS?🙏) if Hande keeps this shape, Eczacıbaşı is unstoppable. She was a bit shaky at reception today but her attacks and blocks were great. Good game by bosko as well, she did a good job with oos kills.


    I feel like fener is the favorite to win the season but if both hande and voronkova could hold a decent reception line, they could at least extend the series

    Quote from QuickOutside

    I am not convinced Vakif will be strong next season. Reflecting on Markova’s run in Novara, she’s been more of a liability than asset as OH1. Her pass and defense are reminiscent of Gray, which can completely prevent a team from getting side out rhythm. I don’t think she is going to be the silver bullet everyone believes (or maybe everyone is just hoping the 2m “new” kid can become a savior…?). Bosetti could bring some reception and defense stability as OH, but she will not be a 1-to-1 replacement to Gabi. Maybe Frantti can improve but still, the main problem preventing Vakif from taking trophies is the lack of a big four OPP who can carry the team. And without Gabi, and no big powerhouse OH (like an Arina or a Plummer), it is even more critical to have a big four OPP. KVR is a slight upgrade from JT but KVR will not carry the team. Guidetti really fucked himself when he got greedy, trading Haak for Egonu.


    Two ideas:


    1 - Abandon Bosetti and go for a more power attacking OH which is also solid in pass and defense. I think of Skinner or Sorokaite. Just unsure if they would fit well in Vakif’s offense system… they are also probably signed for next season already.


    2 - Another idea - and it’s a big gamble - but it worked for Novara in the second Chieri match a few days ago… consider Markova in the OPP position, although I’ve only seen her play OPP in one match. But she delivered…

    I fully agree with first paragraph but my comments with your two ideas:

    1. Skinner yes! I'm surprised she will stay in Chieri, I was sure one of the top Italian or turkish teams would snatch her next season. It seems like she extended her contract with Chieri. I disagree with sorokaite. She had her good days like 5 years ago, especially as opp but as Oh she is really average at best. She just had 1 good game this season. She is definitely not caliber of Vakıfbank or other top teams. She is already 36, she might even retire this season

    2. Markova as opp has more potential than as oh for sure and I think she could be more impactful than KVR. However I would doubt that this is Guidetti s plan. Otherwise he wouldn't transfer two foreign opps.

    Quote from serdar

    I fully agree with first paragraph but my comments with your two ideas:

    1. Skinner yes! I'm surprised she will stay in Chieri, I was sure one of the top Italian or turkish teams would snatch her next season. It seems like she extended her contract with Chieri. I disagree with sorokaite. She had her good days like 5 years ago, especially as opp but as Oh she is really average at best. She just had 1 good game this season. She is definitely not caliber of Vakıfbank or other top teams. She is already 36, she might even retire this season

    2. Markova as opp has more potential than as oh for sure and I think she could be more impactful than KVR. However I would doubt that this is Guidetti s plan. Otherwise he wouldn't transfer two foreign opps.

    I didn’t realize Sorokaite was already that old! But yes, Skinner had a very good season in Chieri… even if she renews, I’m sure she was approached by top Turkish and Italian clubs.


    I have not seen much of Markova - just this season in Turkish league at Muratpasa and then at Novara. At Novara, she has really struggled as OH. Szakmary has been much more effective than Markova in second half of the season… maybe Gio can whip her into shape but I have major doubts.

    Quote from Kostlich

    JT is not dominant and can't play oos. Why is she playing opposite by the way?

    What do you mean why is she playing OP?

    Like every OP is supposed to attack crazy OOS balls..
    There are only 4 OPs rn who can play OOS and Vakif couldn’t get any of them for this season.


    And we can argue if Boskovic is best OP or not but thete is no doubt she is best OOS scorer in the world, so when you have her on opponent’s team ofc JT is gonna look weak OOS eventhough she isn’t the worst. She is best Vakif could have gotten at that moment as I said in some previous post, I don’t understand what they could have done differently.. they tried to get Boskovic and Vargas, and at the end wanted even to keep Egonu but everyone of them refused.


    The fact that JT can’t play OOS doesn’t mean she shouldn’t play OP as most OPs (and hitters in general) can’t hit crazy OOS, it just means she is not top level player but in right system she can perform very well. Vakifbank this year is not that system so there- mystery solved.

    Some interesting games, When FB plays such that everyone score almost a double digit, I don’t know if there is a team in the world that could stand against them. Finally, I saw some good plays from Ana C. and Eda back to herself again. Ferhat maybe learning from his previous mistakes and didn’t substitute Voronkova with Gray, and Hande doing considerably well. I have a feeling Ezacibasi is going to miss Voronkova next year and they may question themselves for keeping Gray over Voronkova. VB is such a disarray this year, unfortunately JT didn’t work out for them at all, her defense and her attacks are so weak, better off for VB if she sits at the bench. Guidetti made some bad choices, first getting Egonu over Haak, and then JT over Egonu, and this year Bosetti over Gabi. I don’t like this trend, granted he had won two CL championship back-to-back one of them being last year and a year before, and over all without any doubt VB has been the best team in the world for the last decade, but now something is not right with them. I only take solace for the fact that besides Gabi is leaving, next year’s players selection is far better than this year, and from today’s games it shows KVR is substantially upgrade over JT.

    Quote from Cofi

    What do you mean why is she playing OP?

    Like every OP is supposed to attack crazy OOS balls..
    There are only 4 OPs rn who can play OOS and Vakif couldn’t get any of them for this season.

    Ebrar is really good at oos and I also think Van Ryk does good job at OOS balls, Since she is not as physical as Big4, her continuity is a bit problematic, but if she is having a good set, she can be even more effective than the big4 at that set.

    Van Ryk seems a way better Opp than JT right now. Even playing with a worse team.

    Quote from MTS

    Ebrar is really good at oos and I also think Van Ryk does good job at OOS balls, Since she is not as physical as Big4, her continuity is a bit problematic, but if she is having a good set, she can be even more effective than the big4 at that set.

    I mean, not only Ebrar but Stysiak can hit OOS balls with power and hope for block touch, but still not on so consistent level like top 4 OPs.. KVR and JT can do same just not on that level. That’s what I was trying to point out since the evaluation was based in last match where JT’s opponent was Boskovic who is queen of OOS balls and other 3 have capabilities to show similar level.. unfortunatelly I don’t think Ebrar, Stysiak, JT and KVR can show the same but I didn’t mean to say that they absolutely can’t score OOS ofc, just not on consistent high level. In comparison I think when it comes to playing in system then JT can show more similar level and be consistent scorer as big 4 OPs rn.


    I generally agree with what you said, I just wanted to point out different thing in the first place :drink:

    Quote from serdar

    2. Markova as opp has more potential than as oh for sure and I think she could be more impactful than KVR. However I would doubt that this is Guidetti s plan. Otherwise he wouldn't transfer two foreign opps.

    Yes yes YES. Markova is an interesting one. I hope to see her and her longass arms thrive from here on out

    serdar I did not want to occupy the transfer rumours thread.


    As far as I know, when Dehrican was the headcoach of women's NT B, in one of the trainings, Yasemin Sahin (MB of Eczacibasi now) was behaving irresponsible, joking around and not taking it serious. So as far as I remember, he asked her to leave the training and then probably pushed her after a dialogue to leave the training. Some claimed her husband had relations to federation, so Dehrican was directly banned. He lost all his contracts. Then Sigortashop signed with him for a short while but again, rumours were saying that federation was bullying the club due to Dehrican, like not letting them play in another hall etc. Eventually he worked at GS as assistant coach and then 2nd league. Now he is in Romania I think.


    To me, I am not sure who is right or wrong but I will be surprised if GS's management would allow him to work in GS if he committed some sort of violence. Moreover, Ilkin was part of the same team at that time etc. Noone seemed to have problems with him.

    Quote from Cofi

    I mean, not only Ebrar but Stysiak can hit OOS balls with power and hope for block touch, but still not on so consistent level like top 4 OPs.. KVR and JT can do same just not on that level. That’s what I was trying to point out since the evaluation was based in last match where JT’s opponent was Boskovic who is queen of OOS balls and other 3 have capabilities to show similar level.. unfortunatelly I don’t think Ebrar, Stysiak, JT and KVR can show the same but I didn’t mean to say that they absolutely can’t score OOS ofc, just not on consistent high level. In comparison I think when it comes to playing in system then JT can show more similar level and be consistent scorer as big 4 OPs rn.


    I generally agree with what you said, I just wanted to point out different thing in the first place :drink:

    How many times JT got blocked in system? Even that she is still below the top 4 Opp. Lol but i get it there no other options.