Brazil wins bronze in women’s volleyball after beating Turkey

ParisBrazil won bronze in women’s volleyball at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Saturday by beating Turkey 3-1 in a spectacular match that rewarded the effectiveness of the South Americans at decisive moments.

The “Verdeamarela” won the duel with partial scores of 25-21, 27-25, 22-25 and 25-15, unleashing a carnival among a group of Brazilian fans who celebrated every point of Ze Roberto Guimaraes’ team, which was unable to match the silver medal won in Tokyo 2020.

With a packed Paris Arena Sud 1 and the “Canarinha” Olympic champions in Beijing 2008 and London 2012, the first set was a point-to-point battle for most of the set. But in the end the Brazilians showed their class and experience to take the lead in the match.

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Gaby, the team captain, shined in the first set with high-flying shots against a Turkish team that went from strength to strength and started the second set in a nosedive.

A 0-4 lead for the Turks was broken with a powerful shot from Melissa Vargas, the Cuban-born opposite who leads the red team’s attack.

Vargas provided the spark Turkey needed to fight for the set. She even got ahead, but once again the ‘garotas’ stepped up in the final points to take the set 27-25.

Absolute parity until the middle of the third set and the Turks were ahead to have four points in their favour.

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The Brazilians saved two, but in the third their rivals – without the same quality in their record as the South Americans – managed to take the set and get back into the game.

For the Brazilians, letting bronze slip away was not an option, at a Games in which the United States once again frustrated their dream of gold. In Tokyo it was in the final, in Paris in the semi-finals.

Saturday would be a different story, the spikes from Gaby, Thaisa and the fierce play of the entire team that blocked in the most critical moments, gave them the set more easily than expected to confirm the bronze.

The Olympic final of women’s volleyball will be contested by the United States and Italy.