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Turkey had more than a dreamy start to their 2022 CEV Volleyball European Golden League campaign, as on Wednesday, in their first match of the league round, they seized a straight-sets victory over Slovakia, in Pool A. In a match that lasted approximately 100 minutes, the 2021 MVP Adis Lagumdzija and his teammates, did not leave any doubts over who was the better team.

Many fans came to the ELAZIĞ Firat Üniversitesi Spor Salonu to watch the first match of the reigning #EuroLeagueM champions of Turkey, creating a great atmosphere, supporting their favourites from the first moment to the last referee whistle.

The team around head coach Nedim Özbey did deliver better overall performance - the domination in the attack was crucial, as the team finished with 59% efficiency on the winning spikes (to 43%), recording eight blocks as well (to five), and three aces.

Lagumdzija became top scorer with 27 points, while Peter Mlynarcik was the best for his team with 12 points.

The Turkish team started off better, taking a 10-7 lead, and then gradually building a comfortable point difference (10-7, 18-19, 22-13) to eventually close at 25-15, and open the match in their favour.
Golden #EuroLeagueM MVP Adis Lagumdzja did show some good action in this set, finishing with as many as nine points, and delivering good play on the block towards the last minutes of the set. He was supported a lot by Vahit Emre Savas (five points).
Team Turkey completely dominated on attack in this set, finishing with 14 winning spikes (to seven), and recording three blocks and one ace. However, there was room for improvement when it came to errors, as they let their opponents scored six times on this component.

The Slovaks entered much more concentrated in the second set, ready for a battle on the court. After a close call (4-4, 10-11, 13-12), the hosts were able to record a break point after a strong performance on the serve by Yiğit Gülmezoglu and Savas. More own errors costed the Slovaks a better outcome in this set (nine), as they finished on equal terms (12) on the winning spikes, and were slightly better on block (three to two) in this set.

The guests tried to tie the game in the beginning of the third set (6-6), but the Turkish players were able to take control (10-8). However, Slovakia showed a fighting spirit, always breathing down their opponents’ necks. It was in the end of the set, when Turkey could create a point difference, to eventually emerge victorious. As many as three blocks made the difference (to one), as on the other components, the teams showed a rather equal performance.