The Turkish men's national volleyball team started its 2021 CEV European men’s championship (EuroVolley) campaign with a win after defeating Russia 3-1 on Thursday.

The match in Finland’s Tampere started in what initially appeared to be a match of equal powers. Turkey managed to narrowly win the first set with 29-27, after witch Russia equalized with a wider margin, 25-16.

But after the second set, Turkey managed to pull ahead by winning the third and fourth sets by 25-21 and 25-19

Following the result, Turkey tied with Finland for the leadership of Group C at three points, which defeated North Macedonia 3-1 Wednesday in the first match of the group.

Turkey will face Spain next on Friday, while Russia will meet the Netherlands Saturday.

A total of 24 teams from across Europe are competing in four groups in the tournament.

The group stages of the championship will be held Sept. 1-9 and the Round of 16 will be held Sept. 11-13.

The quarterfinals and semifinals will be played between Sept. 14 and Sept. 18, with the final and the third-place matches scheduled for Sept. 19.