Italy edge Turkey in five-set thriller to claim Women's World Championship title

[p]Bangkok was the scene of a breathtaking final at the Women's World Championship, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/italy/WOxNzHzR/"]Italy[/a] taking on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/turkey/QZT8lL7S/"]Turkey[/a].[/p][p]The Azzurri, reigning Olympic champions and undefeated for 35 matches, faced the 2023 European champion team in a match that lived up to the highest expectations.[/p][p]In pursuit of a title that had been missing since 2002, the team led by Velasco fought with courage and determination. After five intense sets, the Italian women won the gold medal with a hard-fought but fully deserved victory, finishing [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/volleyball/italy-WOxNzHzR/turkey-QZT8lL7S/?mid=lOwLCIt1"]25-23, 13-25, 26-24, 19-25, 15-8[/a].[/p][embed guid="2f885c69-f732-45d3-9937-b82d6e28379d" url="https://x.com/volleyballworld/status/1964699094363910264" social-type="twitter" /][h2]First set in the bag[/h2][p]The start of the set was immediately balanced. Anna Danesi put Italy ahead with the first point, but Turkey responded immediately with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vargas-melissa/ITZaqFn6/"]Melissa Vargas[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/karakurt-ebrar/tviVfISd/"]Ebrar Karakurt[/a], finding winning diagonal and parallel lines.[/p][p]No fear, however, for the Azzurri: [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sylla-miryam/8znxUy2E/"]Miryam Sylla[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/egonu-paola/bR3SLD9f/"]Paola Egonu[/a] alternated shots of power and precision, keeping the national team constantly in the lead.[/p][p]In the middle phase, the set turned into a confrontation of strategies and defences. The exchanges became longer, and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nervini-stella/rVp60gkd/"]Stella Nervini[/a] distinguished herself with decisive interventions.[/p][p]At 22-22, the first act of the final began to heat up. Turkey served with precision, but Italy responded, being present at the most delicate moment.[/p][p]The decisive set-point came at 24-22. Egonu tried to break through with a powerful spike, then Nervini closed the exchange out 25-23.[/p][embed guid="06bcb3b1-6a6d-489a-bfe2-a1c107b5555e" url="https://x.com/volleyballworld/status/1964676188141392131" social-type="twitter" /][h2]Ups and downs for the Azzurri[/h2][p]The second set, however, turned into a nightmare for Italy. After an immediately problematic start, with the Turks incisive on the diagonal and at the wall, the Azzurri struggled to find rhythm and continuity.[/p][p]Velasco reacted with a double change and a heated timeout, but the national team was unable to turn the tide.[/p][p]The Turks maintained constant pressure and rhythm, exploiting every flaw, and closed it out 25-13, putting the final back in the balance.[/p][p]Only a small scare for the Azzurri, who resumed playing with focus in the third set, while being guarded by the Turkish centre ball and the power of star player Vargas, with a monstrous offensive efficiency.[/p][p]The third act of the match turned into a duel of nerves. Turkey held out three set-points, but Italy responded with perfect defence and incisive attacks by Egonu and Sylla.[/p][p]At 24-24, Velasco stopped the game with a strategic timeout; upon returning to the court, Egonu closed with an ace, making it 26-24 and thus 2-1 for the Azzurri.[/p][embed guid="d1ab41c5-5f8a-4627-ad2b-b1f3cded8341" url="https://x.com/volleyballworld/status/1964688944680878453" social-type="twitter" /][p]The fourth set, however, saw Turkey rearing its head again, despite the relentless efforts of the girls led by Velasco.[/p][p]The Azzurri tried to stay in the match with Sylla and Egonu, but Vargas' winning strokes and aces dug an unbridgeable gap. Despite some key points from Egonu and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/giovannini-gaia/tOFfsTRR/"]Gaia Giovannini[/a], Italy lost 25-19, sending everything to the tie-break.[/p][h2]Title decided in the tie-break[/h2][p]Highs and lows, mixed emotions and a thread of anxiety ran through the Bangkok final. But at the decisive moment, Italy brought out the best in themselves: impassable walls, perfect defence, and the ability to nullify even the devastating Vargas.[/p][p]With a tie-break played like champions, the Azzurri dominated 15-8 and took back the crown of the world, writing another unforgettable page in their history.[/p][h2][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/volleyball/world/world-championship-women/"]Catch up on all the results from the Women's World Championship here.[/a][/h2]