Germany stun Turkey in Olympic volleyball qualifiers

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s women's national volleyball team lost Tuesday to Germany in the European Qualifiers for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics .

Germany won the first set 25-15 in the Dutch city of Apeldoorn.

Turkey tied the score 1-1 by winning the second set 25-21 but the Germans pulled out the win in the third and four sets 25-21 to clinch the win at Omnisport Hall.

Turkey will face Croatia in the second match Wednesday in Pool B which has Belgium and Croatia.

Netherlands, Bulgaria, Poland and Azerbaijan in Pool A are also competing for the Tokyo Games.

The winner will secure a place in the games scheduled between July 24 - Aug. 9.

Qualifiers begin with the pool phase, which head to semifinals featuring the top two teams from each pool. The winner-takes-all final is set for Jan. 12.

Italy, Russia and Serbia already secured spots for the 2020 Olympics.