Iran takes third spot in Pool E: FIVB Men´s Junior World Championship - Volleyball
The second round of the FIVB Men´s Junior World Championship was underway in Brazil with the matches being played in the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Niteroi. On the 7th August, Iran competed with the Spanish team. What followed was a three set
long contest at the end of which the Iranian team emerged as victors. The win earned at the Maracanazinho Gymnasium has enabled the Iranians to secure the third position in Pool E for the tournament.
Despite the fact that the Spanish lost the match in a clean sweep to the Iranians, they put up a good fight in doing so. The first set was tight until the end but the Iranians prevailed in earning a win. The Spanish side lacked some steam in the third set
but they came out strong to give themselves a winning chance in the match. Unfortunately for Spain, Iran was in no mood to let go as the Iranians won the match at the following final set scores: 26-24, 25-20 and 25-23.
The coach of the Iranian team, Jovica Cvetkovic made the following comments after the match had ended: “This pool was very difficult to Iran and Spain as we faced a big change from the Niteroi venue (Caio Martins) to Rio de Janeiro venue (Maracanazinho).
We played our first matches against teams who played the first round in Rio de Janeiro and that was very hard. I believe that if the second round was in Niteroi, Iran and Spain would have qualified.”
On the other hand, the Spanish coach Francisco Hervas expressed himself in the following words at the press conference after the match: “It is difficult to play when you have no chances of qualifying. The players fought, but we could not play our best. We
didn't have much time to recover.”
The start of the opening set of the match saw the Spanish side take control at 8-4 but Iran did not let them get too far and reached a tie at 11-11. However, Spain was able to pull up ahead again at 15-13, only to be over taken by Iran shortly afterwards
at 17-16. The score was level at 23-23 but Iran was able to bag a win at 26-24 in the end.
The second set saw the Iranian side take the lead at 3-0 which they were able to extend till 14-6. The Spanish coach asked for a time out to stop the momentum of Iran. This slowed down the Iranians a bit but was not enough to stop them from bagging another
win at 25-20.
The third set started off with an Iranian lead that they were able to extend till 17-15. Spain was able to reach a tie at 19-19 but it was Iran that sealed the deal at 25-23.
Next in line for the Iranian team is the fourth position holder of Pool F.
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