VakifBank Istanbul win seventh women’s CEV Champions League in Istanbul; undefeated in 10 matches
Turkiye’s VakifBank triumph as European champions for the seventh time – FIVB
Turkiye’s VakifBank Istanbul celebrated their seventh women’s CEV Champions League title on Sunday as the 2025-2026 edition of the competition came to a conclusion in Istanbul. Another Turkish club, Eczacibasi Dynavit Istanbul, claimed silver, as both teams booked their spots at the 2026 FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship.
The final-four event of Europe’s top-tier club competition was held at the Ulker hall in the Turkish megalopolis over the weekend. In Saturday’s semifinals, which were also the deciders for World Championship qualification, VakifBank mounted an incredible comeback from two sets down against defending European champions Antonio Carraro Prosecco Doc Conegliano (Imoco) of Italy, denying four opponent match points in the third set towards a 3-2 (22-25, 18-25, 29-27, 25-23, 15-11) turnaround, and advanced to the continental final for the 12th time in the club’s history.
The other semifinal also offered a five-set battle, with Eczacibasi achieving a 3-2 (20-25, 25-20, 25-17, 21-25, 15-8) win over another Italian team, reigning world champions Savino Del Bene Scandicci, to set up an all-Turkish final on Sunday.
In front of about 13,500 fans in the stands(main photo), four-time world champions VakifBank produced a 3-1 (25-20, 25-21, 21-25, 25-18) victory over three-time world champions Eczacibasi to claim the continental crown for the seventh time, the first since 2023. They went through the entire tournament undefeated in 10 matches played. It was the fourth Champions League final for Eczacibasi. They have won the competition only once in history, back in 2015.
In an all-Italian bronze medal game, last year’s winners from Conegliano delivered a hard-fought 3-0 (25-16, 26-24, 27-25) shutout of the world champs from Scandicci.
VakifBank’s 29-year-old Serbian star opposite Tijana Boskovic was honored as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the final-four event. She was also named on the Dream Team along with setter Joanna Wolosz (Imoco), outside hitters Marina Markova (VakifBank) and Ebrar Karakurt (Eczacibasi), middle blockers Sinead Jack-Kisal (Eczacibasi) and Zehra Gunes (VakifBank), and libero Simge Akoz (Eczacibasi), with coach Giovanni Guidetti (VakifBank).
Click here to view the full results and final standings.
Turkiye’s VakifBank triumph as European champions for the seventh time
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