# Turkey women's national volleyball team

The Turkey women's national volleyball team (Turkish: Türkiye Kadın Voleybol Milli Takımı) is formed by the Turkish Volleyball Federation (TVF) and represents Turkey in international CEV and FIVB organizations.
The team is the most successful national sports team in the country and has been nicknamed "Filenin Sultanları" (English: Sultans of the Net) since the 2003 Women's European Volleyball Championship hosted in Ankara, Turkey. It is ranked fourth in the FIVB World Rankings as of August 2024. Daniele Santarelli is the head coach of the team.

## History

Sabiha Gürayman was the first Turkish woman to engage in the game of volleyball, which was introduced in Turkey in the 1910s. As a young woman Gürayman founded and played for the Fenerbahçe women's volleyball team, having previously played in the men's team of that club. Turkish women's volleyball has undergone a rapid transformation since the 2000s, achieving many successes at both club and national level.
The team became the first women's volleyball team to score a perfect season by winning 22 consecutive games between June 29 and September 24 in 2023. In that period, it completed the final stage of the Nations League, European Championship and Olympic Qualification Round.
Due to the national team's recent successes, particularly since the 2019 summer season, women's volleyball has surged in popularity and is now among the most widely followed sports in Turkey.

## Achievements
### Summer Olympics

Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place
Summer Olympics record :
| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | L | SW | SL | Squad |
| 1964 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 1968 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 1972 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 1976 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 1980 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 1984 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 1988 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 1992 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 1996 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 2000 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 2004 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 2008 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 2012 | Preliminary round | 9th place | 5 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 11 | Squad |
| 2016 | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify | did not qualify |
| 2020 | Quarterfinals | 5th place | 6 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 11 | Squad |
| 2024 | Semifinals | 4th place | 6 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 14 | Squad |
| 2028 | future events | future events | future events | future events | future events | future events | future events | future events |
| Total | 0 titles | 3/16 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 33 | 36 | |

### World Championship

| Year | Position | W | L |
| 2006 | 10th | 5 | 6 |
| 2010 | 6th | 6 | 5 |
| 2014 | 9th | 5 | 4 |
| 2018 | 10th | 5 | 4 |
| 2022 | 8th | 6 | 4 |
| 2025 | qualified | qualified | qualified |
| Total | 5/19 | 27 | 23 |

### FIVB World Cup

| Year | Position | W | L |
| 2003 | 7th | 5 | 6 |

### World Grand Prix

| Year | Position | W | L |
| 2008 | 7th | 4 | 5 |
| 2012 | | 10 | 4 |
| 2013 | 8th | 6 | 3 |
| 2014 | 4th | 8 | 6 |
| 2015 | 11th | 2 | 7 |
| 2016 | 10th | 3 | 6 |
| 2017 | 11th | 2 | 7 |
| Total | 7/25 | 35 | 38 |

### Nations League

| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | L | SW | SL | Squad |
| 2018 | Final Round | | 15 | 10 | 5 | 35 | 23 | Squad |
| 2019 | Final Round | 4th | 19 | 13 | 6 | 43 | 25 | Squad |
| 2021 | Final Round | | 17 | 12 | 5 | 40 | 24 | Squad |
| 2022 | Final Round | 4th | 15 | 8 | 7 | 31 | 25 | Squad |
| 2023 | Final Round | | 15 | 12 | 3 | 40 | 13 | Squad |
| 2024 | Final Round | 6th | 13 | 8 | 5 | 31 | 21 | Squad |
| 2025 | | | | | | | | |
| Total | 6/6 | 6/6 | 94 | 63 | 31 | 220 | 131 | |

### Mediterranean Games

| Year | Position |
| 1975 | |
| 1979 | 4th |
| 1983 | 5th |
| 1987 | |
| 1991 | |
| 1993 | |
| 1997 | |
| 2001 | |
| 2005 | |
| 2009 | |
| 2013 | |
| 2018 | |
| 2022 | |
| 2026 | |
| Total | 13/13 |

### European Championship

| Year | Round | Position | Pld | W | L | SW | SL |
| 1963 | Round Robin | 10th | 6 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 10 |
| 1967 | Round Robin | 12th | 8 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 19 |
| 1981 | Final Round | 12th | 8 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 23 |
| 1989 | Final Round | 11th | 7 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 17 |
| 1995 | Preliminary Round | 12th | 5 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 15 |
| 2003 | Final | | 7 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 6 |
| 2005 | Final Round | 6th | 7 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 12 |
| 2007 | Playoff Round | 10th | 6 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 20 |
| 2009 | Playoff Round | 5th | 6 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 8 |
| 2011 | Semifinal | | 7 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 11 |
| 2013 | Quarter Final | 7th | 5 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 8 |
| 2015 | Semifinal | 4th | 6 | 4 | 2 | 12 | 8 |
| 2017 | Semifinal | | 7 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 12 |
| 2019 | Final | | 9 | 7 | 2 | 24 | 12 |
| 2021 | Semifinal | | 9 | 8 | 1 | 25 | 5 |
| 2023 | Final | | 9 | 9 | 0 | 27 | 6 |
| 2026 | | | | | | | |
| Total | Qualified: 16/33 | Qualified: 16/33 | 112 | 62 | 50 | 213 | 192 |

### European Games

| Year | Position | W | L |
| 2015 | | 7 | 1 |
| Total | 1/1 | 7 | 1 |

### European League

| Year | Position | W | L |
| 2009 | | 11 | 3 |
| 2010 | | 10 | 5 |
| 2011 | | 11 | 3 |
| 2012 | 8th | 5 | 7 |
| 2013 | 6th | 6 | 6 |
| 2014 | | 11 | 3 |
| 2015 | | 11 | 3 |
| Total | 7/12 | 65 | 30 |

### Montreux Volley Masters

| Year | Position | W | L |
| 2007 | 6th | 2 | 3 |
| 2015 | | 4 | 1 |
| 2016 | | 3 | 2 |
| 2018 | | 4 | 1 |
| 2019 | 5th | 3 | 1 |
| Total | 5/34 | 16 | 8 |

### Islamic Solidarity Games

| Year | Position | W | L |
| 2017 | | 3 | 2 |
| 2021 | | 4 | 0 |
| Total | 2/2 | 7 | 2 |

## Team
### Current squad

Roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics. The roster was announced on 8 July 2024.
Head coach: Daniele Santarelli
* 1 Gizem Örge L
* 3 Cansu Özbay S
* 4 Melissa Vargas OP
* 7 Hande Baladın OH
* 9 Meliha Diken OH
* 11 Derya Cebecioğlu OH
* 12 Elif Şahin S
* 14 Eda Erdem Dündar (c) MB
* 18 Zehra Güneş MB
* 19 Aslı Kalaç MB
* 21 Beyza Arıcı MB
* 22 İlkin Aydın OH
* 99 Ebrar Karakurt OH

### Former squads

* 2003 European Championship — Silver Medal
    Bahar Mert, Esra Gümüş, Sinem Akap, Özlem Özçelik, Aysun Özbek, Natalia Hanikoğlu, Mesude Kuyan, Pelin Çelik, Çiğdem Can, Gülden Kayalar, Seda Tokatlıoğlu and Neslihan Darnel. Head coach: Reşat Yazıcıoğulları.
* 2009 European League — Silver Medal
    İpek Soroğlu, Pelin Çelik, Neslihan Darnel, Nihan Yeldan, Seda Tokatlıoğlu, Deniz Hakyemez, Naz Aydemir, Esra Gümüş, Eda Erdem, Duygu Bal, Gözde Kırdar and Gülden Kayalar Head coach: Alessandro Chiappini.
* 2011 European Championship — Bronze Medal
    Asuman Karakoyun, Gözde Kırdar Sonsırma, Gizem Güreşen, Elif Onur, Ergül Avcı, Polen Uslupehlivan, Bahar Toksoy, Güldeniz Önal, Naz Aydemir, Esra Gümüş, Neriman Özsoy, Eda Erdem, Neşve Büyükbayram, Selime İlyasoğlu, Neslihan Darnel, Özge Kırdar Çemberci and Ceren Kestirengöz. Head coach: Marco Aurelio Motta.
* 2012 FIVB World Grand Prix — Bronze Medal
    Gülden Kayalar Kuzubaşıoğlu, Gözde Kırdar Sonsırma, Gizem Güreşen, Ergül Avcı, Bahar Toksoy, Güldeniz Önal, Naz Aydemir, Esra Gümüş, Neriman Özsoy, Eda Erdem, Neslihan Darnel and Nilay Özdemir. Head coach: Marco Aurelio Motta.
* 2014 European League — Gold Medal
    Ezgi Dilik, Kübra Akman, Ceylan Arısan, Bihter Dumanoğlu, Polen Uslupehlivan, Yeliz Başa, Hatice Gizem Örge, Cansu Çetin, Gözde Yılmaz, Meliha İsmailoğlu, Çağla Akın and Özgenur Yurtdagülen. Head coach: Ferhat Akbaş.
* 2015 Montreux Volley Masters — Gold Medal
    Seniye Merve Dalbeler, Gizem Karadayı, Dicle Nur Babat, Kübra Akman, Polen Uslupehlivan, Seda Aslanyürek, Büşra Cansu, Güldeniz Önal Paşalıoğlu (C), Naz Aydemir Akyol, Neriman Özsoy, Gözde Yılmaz, Meliha İsmailoğlu, Aslı Kalaç, Çağla Akın and Ezgi Dağdelenler. Head coach: Ferhat Akbaş.
* 2015 European Games — Gold Medal
    Seniye Merve Dalbeler, Gizem Karadayı, Dicle Nur Babat, Kübra Akman, Polen Uslupehlivan, Seda Aslanyürek, Büşra Cansu, Güldeniz Önal Paşalıoğlu (C), Naz Aydemir Akyol, Neriman Özsoy, Gözde Yılmaz, Meliha İsmailoğlu, Aslı Kalaç and Çağla Akın. Head coach: Ferhat Akbaş.
* 2015 European League — Silver Medal
    Melike Yılmaz, Birgül Güler, Buse Kayacan, Fatma Yıldırım, Ceren Kestirengöz, Ezgi Dilik, Ezgi Dağdelenler, Meryem Boz, Ayşe Melis Gürkaynak, Damla Çakıroğlu, Cansu Aydunoğulları, Serpil Ersarı. Head coach: Ismail Yengil.
* 2023 FIVB Volleyball Nations League — Gold Medal
    Gizem Örge, Simge Şebnem Aköz, Cansu Özbay, Melissa Vargas, Ayça Aykaç, Kübra Akman, Hande Baladın, Yasemin Güveli, Meliha Diken, Derya Cebecioğlu, Elif Şahin, Eda Erdem (C), Saliha Şahin, Zehra Güneş, Aslı Kalaç, İlkin Aydın, Ebrar Karakurt. Head coach: Daniele Santarelli.
* 2023 European Championship — Gold Medal
    Gizem Örge, Simge Şebnem Aköz, Cansu Özbay, Melissa Vargas, Ayça Aykaç, Kübra Akman, Hande Baladın, Derya Cebecioğlu, Elif Şahin, Eda Erdem (C), Zehra Güneş, Aslı Kalaç, İlkin Aydın, Ebrar Karakurt. Head coach: Daniele Santarelli.