Poland's women's volleyball team secured top spot in Group A at the European Championship by defeating host nation Turkey 3-2 in Istanbul on Friday.
The victory gave Poland a perfect group stage record of five wins from five matches, finishing at the top of the standings with 14 points to guarantee a favorable tie in the round of 16.
Turkey took the opening set 25-15 in front of their home crowd. Poland responded by winning the next two sets 25-21 and 25-22 to lead the match. Turkey won the fourth set 25-16 to force a deciding fifth set, which Poland won 15-10 to claim the victory.
Despite starting the day in second place in Group A, Turkey had been regarded as favorites for the match. Coached by Italian manager Daniele Santarelli, the Turkish team won the FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League earlier this year and took the silver medal at last year's World Championship.
Group stage record and standings
Poland had entered the final group fixture having won their first four matches against Hungary, Latvia, Slovenia and Germany while dropping just a single set across those games. Turkey occupied second position before Friday's match because they had lost two sets in their opening fixtures compared to Poland's one.
Poland finished top of Group A with five wins, zero losses, 15 sets won, three sets lost and 14 points. Turkey finished second with four wins, one loss, 14 sets won, five sets lost and 13 points to secure their own place in the round of 16.
Under international volleyball regulations, teams receive two points for a 3-2 victory and one point for a 2-3 defeat, leaving Turkey with 13 points despite the loss. In volleyball matches, sets are played to 25 points, with a deciding fifth set played as a shortened tie-break to 15 points.
Slovenia finished third in the group with three wins, two losses and eight points, having won 10 sets and lost eight. Germany secured the fourth and final qualification spot with two wins, three losses, seven sets won, 10 sets lost and six points.
Latvia were eliminated in fifth place with one win, four losses and three points from a set balance of 7-14. Hungary finished bottom of the group without a win, taking one point after losing all five matches with a set ratio of 2-15.
Round of 16 knockout fixtures
Under European Championship rules, the top four teams from each six-team group advance to the elimination round of 16. As Group A winners, Poland will face Portugal, who qualified as the fourth-placed team from Group C, in the knockout phase.
Turkey will face Azerbaijan, who finished third in Group C, while Slovenia play the Netherlands and Germany face Belgium. The Women's European Volleyball Championship is organized by the European Volleyball Confederation (CEV) and features 24 national teams competing for the continental title.
