Not having their main scorers Melissa Vargas, Ebrar Karakurt and Zehra Güneş this week in China, the team coached by Daniele Santarelli saw 23-year-old middle blocker Deniz Uyanık step up with a 16-point performance, produced with eight kills, an impressive seven blocks and one ace.
One of the new faces in the team in 2025, opposite Alexia Karutasu added another 15 (11 kills, three aces, one block), while outside hitter Yaprak Erkek registered 14 (13 kills, one ace) and middle blocker Aslı Kalaç tallied 13 (eight kills, three blocks, two aces).
Building a new team after making their Olympic debut last year in Paris, the French saw 23-year-old opposite Iman Ndiaye deliver a strong performance, leaving the court with 19 points (17 kills, two blocks).
