Zehra Güneş

Zehra Güneş
Zehra Güneş
Personal information
Full name	Zehra Güneş
Born	7 July 1999 (age 24); Kartal, Istanbul, Turkey
Height	197 cm (6 ft 6 in)
Spike	319 cm (126 in)
Block	310 cm (120 in)
Volleyball information
Position	Middle Blocker
Current club	Vakıfbank Istanbul
Number	18
Career
2017 - present	Vakıfbank Istanbul
National team
2015 - 2016	Turkey girls' U18
2017	Turkey women's U20
2017	Turkey women's U23
2018 -	Turkey
Honours
Women’s volleyball
Representing Turkey
FIVB World Cup
European Championships
FIVB Nations League
Women's U23 World Championship

Zehra Güneş (Turkish pronunciation: [zehɾɑː ɟyˈneʃ] ^ⓘ; born 7 July 1999) is a Turkish professional volleyball player. She plays in the middle blocker position.^[1] Currently, she plays for Vakıfbank Istanbul and is a member of the Turkey women's national volleyball team.^[2]

Playing career

In the 2016–17 Turkish Women's Volleyball League season, Zehra Güneş was loaned out to Beşiktaş J.K., another women's volleyball team. The next season, she returned to her home club.^[3]^[1] She enjoyed her first league champion title in the 2017–18 season with Vakıfbank Istanbul.^[4]^[5] She was awarded the "Vestel Special Prize" of the 2017–18 Vestel Venus Sultans League, which is the Turkish top-level volleyball league sponsored by Vestel.^[6]

She participated at the 2017–18 CEV Women's Champions League with her team Vakıfbank Istanbul, which became champion.^[7]

Zehra Güneş played at the 2015 European Youth Summer Olympic Festival held in Georgia. She took part at the 2015 FIVB Volleyball Girls' U18 World Championship in Peru, and was awarded the Best Middle Blocker title.^[8] Zehra Güneş played at the 2016 FIVB World Grand Prix. She was a member of the Turkey women's U20 team that took part in the 2017 FIVB Volleyball Women's U20 World Championship in Mexico, where she was named one of the Best Middle Blockers.^[9] She played for the Turkey women's U23 team at the 2017 FIVB Volleyball Women's U23 World Championship in Slovenia, where her team won a champion title.^[7]

In January 2017, she was invited to the Turkey women's team;^[1] she was admitted to the team in March 2018.^[10] She played at the very first 2018 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League as part of the Turkish team, which won silver.^[11] She was also part of the Turkish squad at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, which finished in fifth place.^[12]^[13]

Awards
Preceded by Jovana Stevanović and Ana Carolina da Silva	Best Middle Blocker of FIVB Nations League 2023 (with Yuan Xinyue)	Succeeded by TBD
Preceded by Chiaka Ogbogu and Zehra Güneş	Best Middle Blocker of FIVB Club World Championship 2023 (with Jovana Stevanović)	Succeeded by TBD