Iran sweeps Argentina 3-0: National volleyball team fires up engines in VNL
Tehran - BORNA - Iran faced Argentina in the early hours of Saturday, June 13, claiming a resounding 3-0 victory with set scores of 25-23, 25-19, and 25-23. The victory follows consecutive defeats against Brazil and Bulgaria in their opening two matches. The Iranian squad is scheduled to conclude its Week 1 campaign against Belgium on Sunday, June 14, at 17:30.
Iran started the match with Morteza Sharifi, Arshia Behnezhad, Mohammad Valizadeh, Yousef Kazemi, Poriya Hossein Khanzadeh, Ali Hajipour, and Mohammad Reza Hazratpour as the libero under the guidance of head coach Roberto Piazza. On the other side of the net, Argentina's head coach Eduardo Horacio fielded a starting lineup consisting of Matías Sánchez, Germán Gómez, Nicolás Zerba, Joaquín Gallego, Luciano Vicentín, Fausto Díaz, and Franco Massimino as the libero.
Match Report
Set 1: Iran 25 - 23 Argentina
Iran established an early lead, highlighted by a Khanzadeh ace that clipped the net. Although Argentina temporarily leveled the score at 9-9 and briefly pulled ahead 10-9 via a Matías Sánchez ace, Khanzadeh sparked a comeback. After standardizing the score at 13-13 with a powerful pipe attack set up by Behnezhad, Khanzadeh forced a carrying violation from Argentina to push Iran ahead 14-13.
An unreturned serve by Valizadeh extended Iran's lead to 16-14. Despite a neck-and-neck battle in the final stretch punctuated by serving errors from both sides, Sharifi and Hajipour delivered crucial points to put Iran up 24-22. A final service error by Fausto Díaz handed the set to Iran, 25-23.
Set 2: Iran 25 - 19 Argentina
Iran managed to level the score early at 6-6 through a clever spot-serve by Díaz. However, Iran quickly regained control. Leading 10-9, a brilliant one-handed dive reception by libero Hazratpour set up a successful transition kill by Khanzadeh.
An ace by Hajipour widened the gap to 12-9. Showing tactical versatility, Sharifi pushed a tip past a triple block to claim the 16th point, while Kazemi executed a swift quick-attack to put Iran comfortably ahead 20-14. Hajipour sealed the set by forcing a block-out followed by a direct ace, ending it at 25-19.
Set 3: Iran 25 - 23 Argentina
Iran stumbled early in the final set, falling behind 5-2 and prompting a timeout from head coach Roberto Piazza. Returning to the court, Khanzadeh targeted the opposition with a heavy attack followed by a blistering ace. On the next play, Valizadeh converted an overpass into a quick kill to tie the score at 5-5.
The teams traded points until 13-13, when Behnezhad repeatedly found Khanzadeh on the back row to punch through Argentina's defense for a 15-13 lead. Hajipour added another service ace to make it 16-13.
Argentina's Díaz answered with an ace to equalize at 18-18, but a massive block by Hajipour on Vicentín pushed Iran ahead 20-18. Argentina saved a match point to close the gap to 24-23 after blocking Khanzadeh, but Hajipour emphatically terminated a heavy spike off the Argentine block and out of bounds to secure the 25-23 win and a clean match sweep.
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