AVC Women’s Volleyball Continental Championship:
Etched in history as Iran secures last-four spot
History was made for Iranian women’s volleyball on Friday as the country recovered from a first-set loss to beat Indonesia 3-1 (19-25, 25-16, 25-12, 25-17) and progress to the semifinals of the AVC Women’s Volleyball Continental Championship in Tianjin, China.
Star opposite Elaheh Poursaleh topped the scoring for Iran with a game-high 29 points, helping head coach Alireza Toloukian’s team make amends for its four-set loss to the Southeast Asian side at June’s AVC Women’s Volleyball Cup, where Iran had settled for seventh place.
Outside hitter Fatemeh Khalili and middle blocker Reihaneh Karimi also reached double figures for Toloukian’s side, contributing 15 and 12 points, respectively.
Iranian outside hitter Fatemeh Manzouri and middle blocker Zahra Karimi, meanwhile, scored eight points apiece to make their mark in the historic triumph.
Friday’s win saw Iran climb three spots to 37th in the FIVB Women’s World Ranking — a milestone for a team that was ranked as low as 80th two years ago and only won its maiden international gold medal – since the first national team program was launched in 1963 – by claiming the CAVA Championship, which featured four Central Asian countries, last year before successfully defending its title at the expanded tournament in May.
The victory was also a clear indication of the significant progress made by the Iranian women in recent years. They finished 10th at the previous edition of the Asian Championship in 2023, while their best-ever result in their previous eight appearances was seventh place in 2019.
Iranian girls began their fairy-tale run in Tianjin with a victory over Chinese Taipei – the runner-up at June’s AVC Women’s Volleyball Cup – producing a remarkable fightback to win 3-1 (16-25, 27-25, 25-19, 25-14).
The formidable hosts – a record 13-time champion at the competition – still provided a mammoth test for Toloukian’s side, which fell short in straight sets despite putting up a brave fight, particularly in the second set, before losing 25-22 to the world No. 7 on Monday.
Iran bounced back in style less than 18 hours later, crushing Iraq 3-0 (25-4, 25-7, 25-5) in a match that lasted just over an hour at the Tianjin Olympic Center Gymnasium to secure a runner-up finish in Pool A.