Türkiye national team players pose for a victory photo after the 2026 FIVB Volleyball Nations League (VNL) quarterfinal match against Canada at the East Asian Games Dome in Macau, China on July 23, 2026. (AA Photo)
September 05, 2026 07:06 AM GMT+03:00
Türkiye’s women’s national volleyball team will play Serbia in the semifinal of the Trendyol 2026 CEV European Championship on Saturday, Sept. 5.
The match will be held at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall in Istanbul, starting at 4:00 p.m. local time, and will be broadcast live on Türkiye’s state broadcaster TRT 1. In the tournament’s other semifinal, Poland will face Italy at 7:00 p.m. local time.
Türkiye women’s national volleyball team player Melissa Vargas trains ahead of the European Championship, Aug. 20, 2026. (AA Photo)
Six straight semifinal appearances
Türkiye has reached the semifinal for the sixth consecutive European Championship, a run stretching from 2015 through 2026.
The team has now advanced to the semifinal eight times in its history, having also done so in 2003 and 2011.
Türkiye enters the match as the defending European champion and has won six of seven matches so far in this tournament.
In the group stage, held in Istanbul, the team won four matches and lost one. It went on to defeat Azerbaijan 3-0 in the round of 16 and Germany 3-1 in the quarterfinal.
Türkiye entered the tournament ranked third by the International Volleyball Federation and has won one gold, two silver and three bronze medals across its European Championship history.
Türkiye’s Eda Erdem Dundar (14) and Melissa Teresa Vargas (4) in action against Germany’s Leana Grozer (18) during the CEV Women’s European Volleyball Championship quarterfinal match between Türkiye and Germany at Sinan Erdem Sports Hall in Istanbul, Türkiye, on September 3, 2026. (AA Photo)
Serbia enters with unbeaten record in sets
Serbia, which has reached the final in each of the last four European Championships, has dropped just two sets across seven matches on its way to the semifinal.
The team finished the group stage unbeaten, then defeated Croatia 3-1 in the round of 16 and Greece 3-0 in the quarterfinal. Serbia has won three European titles in its history, along with two silver and one bronze medal.
Türkiye defeated Serbia 3-2 in the final of the 2023 European Championship to claim that title. The final of this year’s tournament will be held in Istanbul on Sunday, Sept. 6.
September 05, 2026 07:07 AM GMT+03:00