AVC Women’s Volleyball Nations Cup:
Iran beats Philippines 3-2 to maintain winning streak
Iran kept its perfect record at the AVC Women’s Volleyball Nations Cup in Hanoi, Vietnam, thanks to a 3-2 (16-25, 25-21, 24-26, 25-23, 15-13) victory over the Philippines on Monday.
Having come from behind twice to force the contest into the decider, Iranian girls again showed great fighting spirit in decider to overcome a 13-11 deficit and walk away with a third successive victory at the rebranded continental showpiece.
Iran began its campaign with a comeback five-set win against Indonesia, before rallying past New Zealand 3-1 (23-25, 25-16, 25-12, 25-18) on Sunday.
Outside-hitter Fatemeh Khalili contributed with a game-high 21 points – including double blocks – for Iran, followed by Masoumeh Qadami, who chipped in 16, two of which were serve points.
The victory left Iran in the second spot of the Pool B table with seven points – two adrift of Kazakhstan, which defeated Indonesia in straight sets (25-17, 25-12, 26-24) earlier in the day.
Iran will face Kazakhstan on Wednesday before concluding the pool phase against Mongolia a day later.
The top two teams of the group will progress to the semifinals of the 11-team competition, with the final showdown set to be staged on Saturday.