AVC Women’s Nations Cup:
Iran claims consolation win over host Philippines
Iran’s women’s volleyball national team found some consolation after defeating host Philippines in straight sets (25-21, 25-12, 25-21) in Candon on Sunday to finish seventh at the AVC Women’s Nations Cup.
Opposite hitter Elaheh Poursaleh led the scoring for Iran with 18 points, while outside hitter Fatemeh Khalili added nine.
Middle blockers Zahra Salehi and Yasna Ahankoub contributed eight points apiece as Iran secured its third victory in six matches at Candon City Arena.
Entering the tournament fresh off a second successive CAVA Championship title earlier this month, Iran got off to a losing start in Pool B, falling 3-1 to Indonesia before suffering another defeat by the same scoreline against Kazakhstan – a team it had beaten twice at the CAVA event.
The Iranian women bounced back with a comfortable victory over Lebanon but were swept aside in straight sets by defending champion Vietnam.
A 3-0 win over Hong Kong saw Iran finish fourth in the six-team standings and advance to the seventh-place playoff.
Despite recording its lowest finish in four appearances at the continental showpiece, Iran head coach Lee Do-hee said her players are making steady progress and expressed confidence in the team's future.
"Regardless of the position we finished in, today's match against the Philippines was a very good opportunity to assess the players' progress," said the South Korean, whose team faced unprecedented circumstances in recent months after leaving Iran on April 21 amid wartime conditions in the region to continue its preparations in the Far East.
"The Iranian players are improving and I am very optimistic about their future. They are young players and have plenty of room to develop further," Lee said, adding that her team is already looking ahead to the Asian Women's Volleyball Championship, which begins on August 21 in Tianjin, China.
Khalili, meanwhile, underlined the high level of competition at the Nations Cup.
"We had hoped to achieve a better result, but unfortunately it didn't happen. However, we are not discouraged by the final outcome," she said.
"I would also like to thank the federation for everything it has done for the women's national team. Hopefully, in future competitions, we will finally be able to turn our efforts into the results we are striving for and repay that support."
"The tournament was very competitive this year, and Iran was drawn into a difficult group. Unfortunately, we were unable to achieve the results we wanted, and we are very disappointed about that. However, we finished the tournament with a victory. Hopefully, we can make up for it in future editions."
Iran captain Shabnam Alikhani, meanwhile, regretted the team's inability to execute some of the tactical plans prepared by the coaching staff during key matches.
"Unfortunately, in some games we could not implement on the court what the coaching staff had instructed us and what we had worked on in training. As a result, we ended up losing those matches," the veteran setter said.
"For the first time, the women's national team had the opportunity to hold a long-term overseas training camp lasting more than 60 days.
"Unfortunately, we were unable to take full advantage of this opportunity, and we feel we have let our people down. I hope that in the future, and in upcoming tournaments, we can achieve results worthy of Iran's women's volleyball players."