Fenerbahçe S.K. (women's volleyball)

Fenerbahçe S.K. (women's volleyball)
Fenerbahçe Women's Volleyball, commonly known as Fenerbahçe, are the professional women's volleyball department of Fenerbahçe SK, a major Turkish multi-sport club based in Istanbul, Turkey. They play their matches at the 7.000-seated Burhan Felek Sport Hall. Fenerbahçe compete in the Turkish Women's Volleyball League, which is considered to be one of the best and most competitive leagues in the world.
Founded in 1928, Fenerbahçe are one of the best volleyball teams in Turkey and in the world. They were crowned World Champions by winning the FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship undefeated in 2010, thus achieving the first Intercontinental Quadruple ever in Turkish volleyball history, after having won the Turkish League, Turkish Cup, and the Turkish Super Cup in 2010. Fenerbahçe became the first Turkish team to claim a World Championship title. After being runners-up in the CEV Champions League in 2010, Fenerbahçe finally were crowned European Champions in the 2011–12 season after defeating French powerhouse RC Cannes in three straight sets (25–14, 25–22, and 25–20) in the final game. The club also reached the third place of the Champions League twice, in the 2010–11 and 2015–16 seasons.
Fenerbahçe also won the CEV Cup by defeating Russia's Uralochka-NTMK Ekaterinburg 3–0 (25-11, 28-26, 25-22) in the 2014 finals in front of their passionate home crowd, thus writing volleyball history as the men's team won another continental title, the CEV Challenge Cup, the very same day. By achieving this unparalleled feat, Fenerbahçe became the first and only sports club in Turkey and one of a few in Europe with European titles won in both the men's and women's volleyball departments.
In Turkey the club have won 14 Turkish Championship titles (6 in the current Turkish Women's Volleyball League and 8 in the former Turkish Women's Volleyball Championship), 3 Turkish Cups, and 4 Turkish Super Cups, among others.
Previous names
Fenerbahçe (1928, 1954–2007)
Fenerbahçe Acıbadem (2007–2011)
Fenerbahçe Universal (2011–2012)
Fenerbahçe (2012–2014)
Fenerbahçe Grundig (2014–2016)
Fenerbahçe (2016–2018)
Fenerbahçe Opet (2018-present)
History
The women's volleyball department was founded in 1928 by Sabiha Gürayman who, as a young woman, played for the club's men's volleyball team, and was the first woman architect in Turkey. However, the section was closed due to lack of opponents. In 1954, a new era started with assistance from Çamlıca Girls' High School (tr). Starting in 1958, the girls won eight Turkish Championships among many other titles. In 1977, the department was closed again until 1989, this time due to insufficient funds. In 1993, the team was promoted from the Istanbul First League to the Turkish Second League. The following year, they played in the Turkish First League. However, they were relegated to the Turkish Second League in the 1995–96 season.
Fenerbahçe returned to the Turkish First League in the 2002–03 season, and were runners-up in the 2006–07 season. The senior team was renamed as Fenerbahçe Acıbadem due to a sponsorship agreement with the Acıbadem Healthcare Group from 2007 to 2011. The Yellow Angels were runners-up after Eczacıbaşı SK in the 2007–08 season, too. They gained the ninth Turkish title in their history in the 2008–09 season, after defeating their archrivals Eczacıbaşı SK in the finals (3–2, 0–3, 3–1, 3–1), which was their first ever title in the league's current format that had started with the 1984–85 season.
Fenerbahçe's women's team shone in the 2009–10 season as the Yellow Angels finished the first round of the 2009–10 Turkish League undefeated in 22 matches (setting a 66:2 set ratio record), and reached the Final Four of the 2009–10 CEV Women's Champions League undefeated. The team then beat the host team RC Cannes in a thrilling five-setter, but eventually lost to Volley Bergamo in five sets in the final, even though they came back after falling two sets down: 22–25, 21–25, 25–22, 25–20, 9–15. Yekaterina Gamova was named the best scorer and Nataša Osmokrović was chosen the best server of the tournament.
The star-studded team of Fenerbahçe were on top of the world on 21 December 2010 in Doha, Qatar after beating South American titleholders Sollys Osasco 3–0 (25–23, 25–22, 25–17) to become the first team in 16 years to claim the 2010 FIVB Women's Club World Championship where Katarzyna Skowrońska was named the MVP and Best Scorer, while Eda Erdem Dündar was the Best Server.
In 2011, Fenerbahçe SK organized the Champions League Final Four in the Burhan Felek Sports Hall in Istanbul, however, in the semi-final the Yellow Angels lost to Turkish rivals Vakıfbank in a heart-breaking five setter (25–19, 21–25, 25–21, 19–25, 11–15), and lost the chance to be the very first team in Turkish volleyball history to win the Champions League title. The Yellow Angels settled for the third place after beating Scavolini Pesaro in four sets (14–25, 25–21, 25–21, 25–21), thanks to the national heroines Seda Tokatlıoğlu, Naz Aydemir and Eda Erdem Dündar.
In 2012 the club won the CEV Volleyball Champions League, which was organized in Baku on 24–25 March 2012, having defeated French powerhouse RC Cannes in the final in three straight sets (25–14, 25–22, and 25–20). Kim won the MVP award and the Best Scorer award, while Naz Aydemir was named the Best Setter.
Honours
Worldwide competitions
FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship
Winners (1): 2010
Third place (2): 2012, 2021
European competitions
CEV Champions League
Winners (1): 2011–12
Runners-up (1): 2009–10
Third place (5): 2010–11, 2015–16, 2018-19, 2021–22, 2022-23
CEV Cup
Winners (1): 2013–14
Runners-up (1): 2012–13
Third place (1): 2008-09
Domestic competitions
Turkish Women's Volleyball League
Winners (6): 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2014–15, 2016–17, 2022–23
Runners-up (6): 2006–07, 2007–08, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2020-21, 2021-22
Third place (4): 2011-12, 2012-13, 2017-18, 2018-19
Turkish Women's Volleyball Championship
Winners (8): 1955-56, 1956-57, 1957-58, 1958-59, 1959-60, 1967-68, 1968-69, 1971-72
Runners-up (3): 1960-61, 1972-73, 1974-75
Third place (3): 1961-62, 1973-74, 1976-77
Turkish Cup
Winners (3): 2009–10, 2014–15, 2016–17
Runners-up (5): 2008–09, 2013–14, 2018–19, 2021–22, 2022-23
Turkish Super Cup
Winners (4): 2009, 2010, 2015, 2022
Runners-up (4): 2011, 2014, 2017, 2023
Turkish Federation Cup
Winners (2): 1959-60, 1976-77
Runners-up (1): 1965-66
Istanbul Women's Volleyball League
Winners (11): 1954-55, 1955-56, 1956-57, 1957-58, 1958-59, 1960-61, 1967-68, 1968-69, 1970-71, 1971-72, 1972-73
Runners-up (5): 1959-60, 1962-63, 1969-70, 1973-74, 1974-75
Third place (6): 1961-62, 1963-64, 1964-65, 1965-66, 1966-67, 1976-77
Team roster
Season 2023–2024
Season by season
Home halls
This is a list of the home halls the senior team played at in the recent years.
1 CEV Champions League games only.
Notable players
Domestic Players
Elif Ağca Öner
Ergül Avcı
Naz Aydemir
Duygu Bal
Meryem Boz
Çiğdem Can Rasna
Pelin Çelik
Merve Dalbeler
Gökçen Denkel
Songül Dikmen
Eda Erdem
Seda Eryüz
Nihan Güneyligil
Özge Kırdar
Yağmur Koçyiğit
Aysun Özbek
Özlem Özçelik
Nilay Özdemir
İpek Soroğlu
Seda Tokatlıoğlu
Polen Uslupehlivan
Dicle Nur Babat
Meliha İsmailoğlu
Ezgi Dilik
Gizem Güreşen Karadayı
Şeyma Ercan
Melis Yılmaz
Damla Çakıroğlu
Merve Tanyel
Beliz Başkır
Fatma Yıldırım
Sıla Çalışkan
Bahar Toksoy
İpar Özay Kurt
Ceren Kestirengöz
Pınar Eren
Gizem Örge
Tutku Burcu Yüzgenç
Buse Ünal
Cansu Çetin
European Players
Valeriya Korotenko
Oksana Parkhomenko
Polina Rahimova
Marina Tumas
Frauke Dirickx
Dobriana Rabadžieva
Aneta Havlíčková
Nataša Osmokrović
Mia Jerkov
Christiane Fürst
Christina Bauer
Alice Blom
Maret Balkestein-Grothues
Lucia Bosetti
Eleonora Lo Bianco
Berenika Okuniewska
Katarzyna Skowrońska
Katarzyna Skorupa
Yekaterina Gamova
Lioubov Sokolova
Anna Lazareva
Arina Fedorovtseva
Anja Spasojević
Brankica Mihajlović
Bianka Buša
Mina Popović
Non-European Players
Ana Biatriz Chagas
Fabiana Claudino
Fofão Souza
Fernanda Garay
Marianne Steinbrecher
Paula Pequeno
Tatiana Santos
Natália Pereira
Ana Cristina de Souza
Macris Carneiro
Madelaynne Montaño
Kim Yeon-koung
Nootsara Tomkom
Lindsey Berg
Therese Crawford
Nicole Davis
Alisha Glass
Kim Glass
Kristin Hildebrand
Logan Tom
Christa Harmotto
Jordan Thompson
Kelsey Robinson
Samantha Bricio
Melissa Vargas
Players written in italic still play for the club.
Sponsorship and kit manufacturers
1 Main sponsorship
2 Back sponsorship
3 Lateral sponsorship
4 Short sponsorship
See also
Fenerbahçe SK
Fenerbahçe Men's Volleyball
References
External links
Fenerbahçe S.K. (women's volleyball)
Women's volleyball teams in Turkey
Volleyball clubs established in 1928
1928 establishments in Turkey