Slovenia survived a 132-minute thriller against Türkiye to claim first ticket for VNL 2026 Semifinals!

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Slovenia is the first semi-finalist in the 2026 Volleyball Nations League Finals in Ningbo, China, after defeating Turkey in straight sets (25:21, 35:33, 39:37) in one of the most exciting games in the tournament’s history.
The match, constisting only in three sets, lasted as many as 132 minutes and offered a real volleyball show, with the second and third sets turning into marathons with thrilling comebacks, missed opportunities, and even controversial referee decisions.
The second set was the most dramatic, in which Slovenia missed as many as 11 opportunities to close the contest before eventually sealing it 35:33.
Türkiye, on the other hand, had their 11 chances to close the third set, falling behind 14:19 but eventually equalizing until only a point away from reducing the score several times.
In the end, the Slovenians held on, and Nik Mujanović put an end to the dispute with a block for the final 39:37.

Blocking proved to be one of the decisive elements in the match.
Türkiye made an impressive 14 points from this element against 11 for Slovenia, with as many as nine of the Turkish blocks coming against bomber Nik Mujanović.
Despite serious difficulties in attack, the Slovenian opposite hitter redeemed himself in the best possible way by making the kill block that brought victory and qualified his team for the semi-finals.
Türkiye’s errors proved decisive, as they gifted 28 points to their rivals against 18 for the Slovenians.

Rok Možič led the winners with 25 points
to his name through 57% in attack, and Nik Mujanović added 20. For Türkiye, Adis Lagumdzija finished with 21 points, and Ahmet Tümer added 11.

Besides the dramatic rallies, the match will likely be remembered for the controversial refereeing of the first referee Sinisa Ovuka from Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the match, there were at least four situations with questionable points, and the most controversial one came at the end of the second set during Tine Urnaut’s pass, which caused serious protests from the Turkish bench.

In the semi-finals, Slovenia will face the winners of the quarter-final between hosts China and the only undefeated team in the tournament so far – Japan, who will face each others this evening, at 19.30 Local Time!
This also marks three consecutive semifinal appearances for Slovenia!

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🏐| FIVB Volleyball Nations League 2026 | QUARTERFINALS
📍Ningbo Beilun – China 🇨🇳

—Wednesday | July 29, 2026 —
👉🏼 15.00 (Local Time) | Slovenia – Türkiye 3-0 (25:21, 35:33, 39:37)
• 19.30 (Local Time) | Japan – China

— Thursday | July 30, 2026 —
• 15.00 (Local Time) | Italy – USA
• 19.30 (Local Time) | Poland – Ukraine

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