Iran beats Italy in five-set friendly
Iran came from behind twice to beat volleyball powerhouse Italy 3-2 (23-25, 25-18, 14-25, 25-21, 15-11) in a warmup game in Cavalese, Italy, on Friday.
The game was part of Iran’s nine-day training camp in Italy, ahead of the visit to Brazil for the first week of action at the Volleyball Men’s Nations League – starting June 11 in Rio de Janeiro.
Friday’s victory was also a morale-booster for Iran, which has made a fresh start under new Italian coach Roberto Piazza, following a dire run of results at the VNL and Olympic qualifiers over the past two years.
Outside hitter Ali Haqparast was the top scorer for the new-look Iranian team on Friday with 15 points.
The two sides will meet again in Padova today.
Iran will begin its VNL campaign with formidable tests against global heavyweights Brazil and USA.
Piazza’s men will take on the host on the opening day and then face the United States at the Maracanãzinho venue on June 12.
A third game for Iran in Rio de Janeiro will come against last year’s semifinalist Slovenia on June 13.
Iran will conclude the first week of the preliminaries against debutant Ukraine on June 15, before heading to Belgrade for Week 2.
The top eight of the 16-team table after three weeks will progress to the VNL Finals – starting with the quarterfinals on July 30 in the Chinese city of Ningbo.