Melissa Vargas Scores 33 as Turkiye Claim Second Nations League Title

Melissa Vargas scored 33 points and was named Most Valuable Player as Türkiye came from a set down to beat Brazil 3-1 in the Volleyball Nations League final in Macao. It was the country's second title in the competition.

A set behind, then a comeback in four

Melissa Vargas carried Türkiye through a tense evening at the East Asian Games Dome. Brazil captured the opening set 25-23 behind a strong offensive display from Ana Cristina, but Vargas ignited a Turkish fightback.

Türkiye claimed the second set 25-23, edged a tense extra-point third set 26-24, and weathered a late Brazilian surge in the fourth to seal the match with a 25-21 set win. Türkiye started the fourth set strongly, opening an 8-2 lead before Brazil briefly went ahead 19-18. The match lasted 126 minutes.

Vargas sets a final scoring record

Her 33 points did more than settle the result. Vargas was by far the best scorer of the game, the most anyone has ever scored in a VNL final match in either gender. Ana Cristina led Brazil with 25.

Türkiye lifted the trophy for the second time in the history of the competition, after their first title in 2023, while Brazil settled for their fifth silver. Türkiye had reached the final stage for the eighth consecutive year since the competition began in 2018. The win also avenged their defeat to Brazil in the bronze medal match at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Vargas kept her words plain afterwards. "It was a great match. I want to say thank you to all Turkish fans," she said in a post-match interview.

For an opposite already among the sport's finest, this was another marker set high. In Macao, on the last swing of the night, she left little doubt about who decided it.