Turkish Airlines won the match played at Mulhouse Sports Palace with sets of 25-18, 25-15 and 25-16. About 2,000 expatriate fans, who came to the hall to support our representative, supported the Turkish Airlines volleyball players with cheers. The fans took a souvenir photo with the volleyball players after the battle, which was completed with a victory.
In addition, the match, followed by the Turkish Consul General in Strasbourg Bekir Sarp Erzi from the stands, started with a minute’s silence in memory of those who lost their lives in the earthquakes in Kahramanmaraş that affected 11 provinces.
Turkish volleyball player Şeyma Ercan, speaking to DHA after the fight, expressed her condolences for those who lost their lives in the earthquakes and said, “We are going through a very bad time as a country. We are very sorry about that. But today we had to go out and play and we won 3-0 “Congratulations to our country,” he said.
Abdullah Kelkitli, Secretary General of Turkish Airlines Sports Club, said: “We are very happy that we won and achieved an advantageous score. It was an honor to meet with our citizens here after such a disaster. It was a pleasure for us to crown such a day with a victory and to return to our country with this advantage. We thank our citizens who came here and our Consul General for not leaving us alone,” he said.
TC Strasbourg Consul General Bekir Sarp Erzi said: “We are proud of our team. They played with a prestigious team, Mulhouse, and they are on their way to the final by winning. We are going through difficult times, our pain is fresh, but such events that bring the society together make us smile, albeit a little. THY I congratulate the team. I was happy to be with the citizens in Mulhouse. I hope we will continue to meet in better days.”
The two teams will face each other on Wednesday, March 1 at the Burhan Felek Vestel Volleyball Hall in the rematch.