VakifBank's overhaul sees Turkish powerhouse challenge for seventh title in the #CLVolleyW

It is hard to imagine VakifBank Istanbul as an underdog in a competition which they won more titles than any team over the past 14 years. But this was the situation before the start of the season, where the Turkish team saw a huge turnover in personnel, yet still managed to return to the semi-finals after a one-year hiatus.

It was not necessarily a vintage season for VakifBank, but it was one where the Turkish powerhouse, a six-time winner of the CEV Champions League Women between 2011 and 2023, provided some absolutely incredible comebacks and some strong performances, despite losing some fantastic players.

This only proved the resilience of the Turkish side, which saw an exodus led by fantastic stalwarts like middle blocker Chiaka Ogbogu, outside hitter Gabi Guimaraes and opposite Jordan Thompson, after VakifBank were eliminated in last season’s quarter-finals.

But never underestimate the resilience of a team which has won everything and has an experienced coach like Giovanni Guidetti on the bench, a coach who has been leading the side since the 2008/09 season.

And not only VakifBank managed to secure a place in the Final Four, they also clinched the Turkish league title this season, their 14th in history, with a sweep of rivals, just one week prior to the Final Four in Istanbul, arguably boosting their morale even more for the next challenges.

“This success is not only the result of our struggle on the field, but also our disciplined work and professional approach that have been going on for years,” said Abdi Serdar Üstünsalih, the team’s general manager.

But this couldn’t have been possible with some shrewd and smart moves on the transfer market last summer, when VakifBank had to overhaul their squad and make the newcomers click in an instant.

Two of the new transfers – Kiera van Ryk and Marina Markova – were also the team’s top scorers, with 124 and 123 points respectively. But Markova, the 24-year-old outside hitter, which had played in the last season for Muratpaşa Belediyesi Sigorta Shop and Igor Gorgonzola Novara, had 5.86 points per set on average, only second best this season, behind Scandicci’s Ekaterina Antropova.

Middle blocker Xinhue Yuan also delivered some excellent performances, with 18 blocks, or an average of 0.75 per set, and 74 points throughout the season, as Caterina Bosetti also had 36 points.

That enabled VakifBank to boast five wins and a single loss – starting the 4th round with five wins in a row – in the start of the season, winning their pool and making it directly to the quarter-finals.

But in a twist of fate, they faced big rivals Fenerbahçe Medicana Istanbul in that phase of the competition, in a winner takes’ all situation, with VakifBank conceding a clear 0:3 loss in the first match.

They also conceded the first set in the second leg, but that was followed by a monster performance from van Ryk and Markova, who combined for 52 points, pushing the match in the golden set, where VakifBank took the win, 15:11, and made it to the Final Four, enabling themselves to fight for the seventh trophy in the team’s history.