Turkey claim opening victory at volleyball WorldCup

Turkey lost to Poland in five sets in their opening match on Friday, but today they had better luck.

Fighting to a 2-2 tie in the first fourth sets, Turkey and Cubaexchanged runs to draw at 14-14. At the crucial point, Hanikoglu Natalia emerged as Turkey’s hero when she made two consecutive kills to conclude the marathon match in one hour and 42 minutes.

Natalia finished with 20 points and Demir Neslihan added 21 forthe Turkish side.

"I am proud of my team," said Turkey’s head coach Resat Yaziciogullari.

"We made many mistakes in the first two sets. After we lost two sets, we fought back together till the end."

With the tournament having a rest day on Tuesday, Turkey will play China on Wednesday. Yaziciogullari held a philosophical attitude toward the upcoming match.

"If we win, we will be happy. If we lose, we will not be unhappy," he said. "If we play good defense and serve strongly, itwill be a close match."