Turkiye is on the cusp of making it to the Round of 16 at the 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship after beating Libya in four sets.
World no. 14 Turkiye believes the sky is the limit after going up 2-0 in Pool G action in the 2025 FIVB Men’s Volleyball World Championship, beating Libya in four sets, 25-18, 23-25, 25-14, 25-16, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Monday.
Turkiye, who nabbed its best finish in Worlds last 2022 in 11th place, took down crowd favorite and higher-ranked Japan in the opening game, and followed it up with a flourish against Libya.
Now with just Canada in their way for a sweep of their pool, the Turks are oozing with confidence.
“It’s up to us to [not] make mistakes now. But at the level we’re currently playing, we can beat anybody.” said Adis Lagumdzija.
“I just think we need to conitnue to play at the highest level possible, [make] less mistakes as possible.”
Against lower-ranked Libya, Turkiye’s mistakes did rear their head, especially in the late goings of set 2, where careless errors forced their hand as Libya seized a 24-20 lead late in the canto.
Despite their best efforts to stay afloat when they saved set points, a service error from Turkiye hitter Efe Mandiraci gifted Libya their second set win in the tournament in a narrow victory, 25-23, to tie the match at 1-1.
Fortunately for Lagumdzija and company, they were able to regain their bearings in the next two sets to hold off Libya’s challenge.
[RELATED: Turkiye inches closer to World Championship Round of 16 berth with win over Libya]
Sweep in sight
With a 2-0 record, Turkiye has the chance to win the group and move on to the Round of 16 on a win streak.
Though they already have one foot inside the door, Turkiye will need to keep themselves in the winner’s circle to make sure that they get into the next round without having to lean on any other result out of their control in the tournament.
Turkiye needed four sets to take care of business against Libya in Pool G of the FIVB Men’s World Championship. | Photo: Volleyball World
Team Canada looms as the last challenge for Turkiye in the pool phase.
They meet each other on Wednesday, September 17, still at the Araneta Coliseum at 2pm.
“We have Canada next, we know which kind of team it is. We played them many times. Even though they are missing a couple of outside hitters, we know everybody else. I think we are mostly ready,” said Lagumdzija.
He finished with 15 points in the victory against Libya while Berdihan Bulbul and Mandiraci each added 16 markers as well.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.