Turkey claims unexpected win over USA

LINCOLN, United States, May 16, 2018 - Zehra Gunes’ defensive masterclass led Turkey to a stunning upset of the United States in the Volleyball Nations League, as the heavily-favored hosts went down in a 3-2 thriller (28-26, 25-19, 20-25, 24-26, 16-14).

Zehra Gunes came up with eight huge blocks as Turkey dug deep to withstand a furious American fightback and send the world champions tumbling to an unexpected defeat in front of their own fans in Nebraska.

Meryem Boz was also in top form, piling on 15 attacks of her 17 points tally as Turkey, with 11 rookies in its squad, held its nerve to overcome one of the most powerful teams in world volleyball. Seyma Ercan, Eda Erdem and Gunes each contributed 16 points to the win and Melija Ismailoglu added 13 or her own.

Captain Jordan Larson spent most of the first two sets on the bench but spearheaded the USA revival after the hosts went 2-0 down. However, it was not enough to see off the visitors, who grew in confidence throughout and now have two straight VNL victories to begin their campaign. Kim Hill collected 15 kills and 19 points total for Karch Kiraly’s Americans. Tetori Dixon and Lauren Gibbenmeyer had 12 points apiece for the defeated team.