Iran cruises into 2018 Men’s Volleyball Cup final

On Tuesday, the Iranian side brushed off the East Asian side in straight sets (25-19, 25-20 and 25-23) for the second time in the competition at the University of Taipei (Tianmu) Gymnasium.

The first set saw both teams trade blows before Iranian sportsmen put in impenetrable blocks and led 20-16. Iranians continued with their aggressive services, and took the opener 25-19 at last.

Chinese Taipei managed to catch Iran at 8-8 early in the second set, before the Iranians surged ahead and the hosts went down the second set 25-20.

Chinese Taipei, thanks to the home spectators’ support, took the lead in the third set. Iran, however, did not give in and advanced again. It wrapped up the set 25-23 and booked the final berth.




Pourya Yali scored match-high 16 points, including 14 kills from 25 attempts and two blocks, while Salehi Meisam added 13 points, including 12 kills from 20 attempts and an ace.

“This was our second time to play Chinese Taipei. We played better on the court because we had done more analysis and got familiar with this great team, who beat Kazakhstan yesterday,” Iran’s head coach Behrouz Ataei Nouri said after the match.

“We cared too much about reaching new heights (in AVC Cup for Men) to perform well on the court. Also, that is my bad thing to have insufficient instructions to the problems we met,” Chinese Taipei’s head coach Chen Yu-an said.

Chinese Taipei will go up against Japan on Wednesday to fight for the third place, with Iran and Qatar will be vying for the championship.

The 2018 Asian Men's Volleyball Cup started on August 8, and will wrap up on August 15, 2018.

/SR