VakıfBank women's volleyball team completed a historic quintuple as it beat defending champion Italy's Imoco Volley 3-1 to clinch the CEV Champions League Super Final on Sunday.
The Yellow-Blacks had already won the FIVB World Club Championship, AXA Sigorta Cup Volley, Spor Toto Champions Cup and Misli.com Sultans League earlier in the season.
Starting the match at a brisk pace, VakıfBank took a 3-0 lead right at the beginning of the first set, but Imoco Volley fought back to make it 13-9.
However, thanks to Zehra Güneş, Isabelle Haak and Gabriela Braga Guimaraes, VakıfBank stamped its authority on the game and took the set 25-22 for a 1-0 lead at the Stozice Arena in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
While the first part of the second set witnessed points for both sides, VakıfBank eventually took a 13-7 lead through Haak and Guimaraes.
Their Italian opponents staged yet another comeback and scored 16 points with Paola Egonu, Joanna Wolosz and Robin De Kruijf.
VakıfBank, however, did not allow its opponent to take the lead. It rediscovered the tempo once more with points from Haak and Michelle Bartsch-Hackley, winning the set 25-21 for a 2-0 lead.
With both teams determined to win the third set, it was at one point drawn 10-10. But, VakıfBank eventually turned the tide in its favor to make it 15-11, with Haak once again to its rescue.
Imoco Volley, however, with an outstanding effort from its star player Egonu, took the set 25-23 to make it 2-1.
The reigning European champion made a flying start to the fourth set. It took an 8-3 lead thanks to successive points from Egonu, forcing a VakıfBank timeout.
The timeout turned the tide for VakıfBank and with points from Guimaraes, Ogbogu and Haak, VakıfBank took a 15-13 lead after leveling the score 10-10.
The Turkish powerhouse eventually won the set 25-21 and the match 3-1 to complete a historic season with five silverware.
Brazilian hitter Guimaraes and Swedish player Isabelle Haak ended the match with 22 and 19 points, respectively.
However, Italian player Egonu's 38-point performance was not enough for the reigning champion to come out on top.
With the win, VakifBank bagged its fifth CEV Women's Champions League title in the club's history.
