Marina Markova: 'I put myself under pressure'

Marina Markova, the Russian spiker of VakıfBank, said that her development this season was a great success for her.

The 24-year-old volleyball player, who spent her first season at VakıfBank, made statements to AA reporter about her development at the club, the 2024-2025 Vodafone Sultans League championship and the CEV Champions League Final Four.

Stating that it is an honor to have attracted the attention of VakıfBank head coach Giovanni Guidetti at the beginning of the season, Markova said, "It is very nice. I am very happy that I was able to attract the attention of such a good club and coach in such a short period of time. It was also a little bit interesting because it was my first professional season and I was happy to come to a team like VakıfBank in my second year. When I first joined the team, I was very excited. We were working on various combinations, so being in such a big club seemed to be a result of my previous development. This was also a success for me."

Explaining that she did not expect to play such an important role in her first season with the team, the young dunker said, "I expected this year to be a year of learning and improving my capacity. I felt pressure in 1-2 games, but then I motivated myself to show the best of myself.

Stating that they successfully completed this season in the Sultans League, the player said, "We worked hard and with the improvement that came as a result, we left behind a successful league period. Despite all the injuries and hard times, there was a team that was dedicated and as a result we became champions. Everyone helped each other. After a 2-year break, we brought the championship to VakıfBank."

- CEV Champions League

Marina emphasized that they will try to play at the best level in the CEV Champions League Final Four on May 3-4.

Speaking about the difficult competition, the Russian spiker said, "I feel a bit nervous. It's a very big tournament in Istanbul. The other teams are also at a very high level. We will try to show our best level and fight until the end."

Stating that she expects great support from the yellow-black fans, Markova concluded her words as follows:

"Being the only Turkish team to compete in the Final Four creates pressure, but we expect great support. Being the only representative of Turkey will give us an advantage in this respect. I hope that Turkish people will support us. We will play against 3 Italian teams. This means that we are guaranteed to face an Italian team in the final. We will face each other in a very big tournament. Of course we expect great support."