Road to Ljubljana: VakifBank Istanbul

VakifBank Istanbul lost the women’s 2021 CEV Champions League Volley Super Final narrowly to Italy’s A. Carraro Imoco Conegliano, but is back again for the 2022 edition against the same opponent looking for vengeance and for its fifth continental title.

The Turkish powerhouse began its 2022 Champions League campaign from the fourth round, in the respectable Pool B company of Italy’s Vero Volley Monza, France’s ASPTT Mulhouse and Finland’s LP Salo.

On November 24, VakifBank stormed the competition with a 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-16, 25-21) home win over Vero Volley, its strongest opponent in the pool. Coach Giovanni Guidetti’s team lost the first set, but with Swedish point machine Isabelle Haak hammering out a 35-point match tally, they took the next three and the victory.

It took an hour to get the job done during the trip to northern Europe on December 9. VakifBank mastered a 3-0 (25-14, 25-11, 25-17) shutout of Salo, while Turkish middle blocker Zehra Gunes shone with a 100% success rate in attack to split the team’s top scorer honors with Haak on 12 points apiece.

Just three days before visiting Mulhouse on December 22, VakifBank triumphed with the trophy at the FIVB Club World Championship in Ankara, regaining the title they had lost to Imoco in 2019. On the wings of their newly recovered status as world champions and Haak’s 22 points, the Turkish team produced another emphatic shutout, 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-17) over ASPTT.

The Istanbul team resumed its Champions League campaign in 2022 with a 3-0 (25-9, 25-21, 25-20) home win over Salo on January 20. With some of the stars resting, this time it was American middle Chiaka Ogbogu who owned the net and delivered the match high of 20 points, including five kill blocks.

The top of the Pool B standings was practically decided on February 3, when VakifBank visited Monza and managed another comeback from a set down to celebrate with a 3-1 (21-25, 25-17, 25-17, 25-12) victory. Its Swedish opposite was on fire again, contributing 32 points to the important success.

At that point, VakifBank’s last pool match, at home against ASPTT, was rather a formality, but Guidetti’s squad did not waste the opportunity to add another solid straight-setter to their record. This time, Turkish opposite Meryem Boz and American outside hitter Michelle Bartsch-Hackley jointly led the scorers with 12 points each towards the 3-0 (25-11, 25-18, 25-21) win.

This way, VakifBank cruised through the pool stage unbeaten, with a perfect 18 points and an 18-2 set ratio.

However, in their first playoff match, the ladies from Istanbul suffered an upset on International Women’s Day at the hands of their quarterfinal opponents Developres Rzeszow. A tight battle in Poland ended at 3-2 (13-25, 29-27, 19-25, 29-27, 15-13) the hosts’ way, causing VakifBank its first defeat of the Champions League season, despite some prolific scoring from Haak (31 points) and Brazilian star Gabriela Guimaraes (26 points).

VakifBank fixed things in the return match at home on March 16. With Haak once again leading the way with 28 points, the Turkish side bounced back with a 3-1 (25-15, 25-19, 23-25, 25-23) win to advance to the semis.

Matched against city rivals Fenerbahce Opet Istanbul, VakifBank took a comfortable 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 22-25, 25-18) victory in the first semifinal game at home on March 31. A brilliant Gabi Guimaraes claimed the MVP award of the match with a 22-point match high.

However, Fenerbahce reacted with a 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 28-26) clean slate in the re-match on April 6 to push the series to a golden set. VakifBank proved stronger in the decider and progressed to the Super Final on a 15-11 win. Haak and Gabi once again shared the team’s top scorer honors on 18 points apiece.

This year’s Super Final between VakifBank and Imoco is set to take place on May 22, at 18:00 local time, at the Dvorana Center Stozice in the Slovenian capital Ljubljana.