VakıfBank S.K.

VakıfBank Sports Club (Turkish: VakıfBank Spor Kulübü) are a Turkish volleyball club based in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded in 1986, VakıfBank SK are currently one of the best women's volleyball teams in the world, having won the FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship a record three times and the European Champions League four times to date.[1]

VakıfBank SK
Full nameVakıfBank Spor Kulübü
Founded1986
GroundVakıfBank Sports Palace, Istanbul
(Capacity: 2,000)
ChairmanAbdi Serdar Üstünsalih
ManagerGiovanni Guidetti
CaptainMelis Gürkaynak
LeagueTurkish Women's Volleyball League CEV Champions League
WebsiteClub home page
Uniforms
Home
Away
Championships
3 World Championships
4 European Championships
1 CEV Cup
1 CEV Challenge Cup
1 Top Volley International
11 Turkish Championships
6 Turkish Cups
3 Turkish Super Cups

From 23 October 2012 to 22 January 2014 the team held a 73-games winning streak in all official domestic and international competitions, which was acknowledged as a world record by Guinness World Records.[2][3] The club won all 52 official games played during the 2012–13 season[4] and all 51 official games played in 2013.[5] VakıfBank collected all five championship trophies unbeaten in the 2012–13 season, being the only club in volleyball history to have achieved this unparalleled feat.[2]

History

The team was established following a merger between two separate teams: VakıfBank and Güneş Sigorta.[1] VakıfBank were originally an Ankara-based team but moved to Istanbul after the merge. Their name changed to VakıfBank Güneş Sigorta, VakıfBank Güneş Sigorta Türk Telekom (VGSTT), VakıfBank Türk Telekom and VakıfBank respectively.[6]

VakıfBank won three unbeaten CEV Champions League championships in 2011, 2013, 2017 and 2018, and are the only unbeaten champions in European Champions League history. They also placed second in 1998 and 1999 in this competition. They won the 2013,2017 and 2018 Club World Championship, the CEV Top Teams Cup in 2004 and CEV Challenge Cup in 2008 while finishing second in the FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship in 2011 and third in the European Confederation Cup of 2000.[7]

The team is coached by Italian Giovanni Guidetti. VakıfBank won 47 games of 47 in the 2012–13 season in all competitions including the European Champions League (12 games), Turkish League (29 games), and Turkish Cup (6 games). After that season, they kept most of the players and coaching staff for the 2013–14 season with little changes: Jelena Nikolic, who took a break volleyball for one year, came back to the team and Italian international Carolina Costagrande transfers from Chinese club Guangdong Evergrande V.C. instead of Polish spiker Malgorzata Glinka and Japanese Saori Kimura. Glinka left the team after three great seasons and moved to her home country for familial reasons.

From 23 October 2012 to 22 January 2014, VakıfBank won 73 consecutive victories in all official competitions, which was acknowledged as a world record by Guinness World Records. During this feat the team won an unprecedented 5 trophies including the Club World Championship, European Champions League, and the domestic treble consisting of the Turkish National League, Turkish Cup and Turkish Super Cup. Their streak was finally ended on 27 January 2014 in a game against rivals Fenerbahçe.[2]

Venue

Since 2016 the club play their home matches at the VakıfBank Sports Palace (Turkish: VakıfBank Spor Sarayı) in Istanbul, the venue has a 2,000 spectators capacity.[8]

Current Roster

As of July 2020.

No. Player Date of Birth Height (m) Position Country
1 Gizem Örge 26 April 1993 1.70 Libero  Turkey
3 Cansu Özbay 17 October 1996 1.82 Setter  Turkey
4 Tuğba Şenoğlu 2 February 1998 1.84 Outside Hitter  Turkey
5 Ayça Aykaç 27 February 1996 1.76 Libero  Turkey
6 Kübra Çalışkan 13 October 1994 1.97 Middle Blocker  Turkey
8 Melis Gürkaynak 20 April 1990 1.85 Middle Blocker  Turkey
9 Meliha İsmailoğlu 17 November 1993 1.88 Outside Hitter  Turkey
10 Gabriela Guimarães 19 May 1994 1.80 Outside Hitter  Brazil
11 Isabelle Haak 11 July 1999 1.95 Opposite Spiker  Sweden
13 Michelle Bartsch-Hackley 12 February 1990 1.93 Outside Hitter  United States
14 Gözde Yılmaz 9 September 1991 1.95 Opposite Spiker  Turkey
16 Milena Rašić 25 October 1990 1.91 Middle Blocker  Serbia
17 Maja Ognjenović 6 August 1984 1.83 Setter  Serbia
18 Zehra Güneş 7 July 1999 1.97 Middle Blocker  Turkey

Honours

International competitions

Domestic competitions

Previous names
  • 1986–1999: Güneş Sigorta
  • 1999–2009: VakıfBank Güneş Sigorta
  • 2009–2011: VakıfBank Güneş Sigorta Türk Telekom
  • 2011–2012: VakıfBank Türk Telekom
  • 2012–present: VakıfBank

Notable players
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