Manila, Philippines, October 22, 2016 - A huge Turkish derby, between crosstown Istanbul rivals, defending champions Eczacibasi VitrA and 2013 gold medallists VakifBank, sets the tone of the semifinals at the 2016 FIVB Women's Club World Championship.
The rivalry of the two sides goes way back and last season they met four times in the Turkish League, with VakifBank winning three times. They also met twice in the Playoffs Round of the 2016 European Championships League, with VakifBank winning on both counts and knocking their archirvals out of the competition.
Either side could become the first in the history of the Club World Championship to win the gold medal for a second time.
Eczacibasi remain unbeaten after three matches in pool play. They haven't lost a single match in the Club World Championship since they were stunned by Hisamitsu Springs Kobe in the opening match of the 2015 edition in Zurich.
VakifBank failed to complete a full comeback when they rallied from two sets down and forced a tie-break against Volero Zurich in pool play, so finished on a 2-1 record. The have only lost one other match in the history of the competition, when they went down to Azeribaijan's Rabita Baku in straight sets in the final of the 2011 edition in Doha.
Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul- Playing their 8th match in the history of the FIVB Club World Championship, with an overall 6-1 record.
VakifBank Istanbul- Playing their 12th match in the history of the FIVB Club World Championship, with an overall 9-2 record.