Star Saeid Marouf made a successful debut for Fenerbahce HDI Sigorta Istanbul over the weekend and helped his new team move up to the top three in the current Turkish league standings, despite a 27-point tally from Canadian international Nicholas Hoag that fueled direct rivals Arkas Spor Izmir towards a hard-fought five-set win. Marouf demonstrated his brilliant playmaking skills on Friday as Fenerbahce mastered a 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-21) shutout of visiting Altekma Izmir, in addition to making three spiking attempts himself and converting all three of them to points.
The three-point win improved Fenerbahce’s record to 13-5 and 39 points, just enough to slide into the third position in the table, leaving Arkas behind on 13-5 and 38. On Saturday, Arkas battled it out against fifth-placed Galatasaray HDI Sigorta Istanbul to claim a sweet home victory with a 27-point match high (including four blocks and an ace) from Canadian outside Nick Hoag. However, that win came after a five-set duel, 3-2 (19-25, 27-25, 25-20, 19-25, 15-11), not enough for Arkas to hold on to their spot among the top three in the standings.
