AVC Men’s Volleyball Continental Championship:
Piazza hails ‘important step forward’ after Iran beats India
Italian head coach Roberto Piazza praised Iran’s fighting spirit in the second set as “an important step forward” after his team defeated India 3-0 (25-20, 28-26, 25-18) at the AVC Men’s Volleyball Continental Championship in Fukuoka, Japan, on Sunday.
Outside hitter Pouria Hosseinkhanzadeh contributed a game-high 20 points, with middle blocker Mohammad Valizadeh and opposite Ali Hajipour adding 11 apiece, as Iran tallied 47 points from attacks, 16 blocks and three service points, while benefiting from 12 Indian errors.
A second straight-set victory in Pool B, following the opening-day win against New Zealand, saw Piazza’s side secure a place in the quarterfinals and move ahead of Belgium and Canada to 17th in the FIVB Men’s World Ranking.
Indian outside hitter Yadav Chirag led his team with 11 points, while Jerome Vinith finished with 10, though their contributions could not prevent a second loss in Fukuoka, having fallen by the same scoreline against China.
The pivotal moment of the contest came in the second set when Iran trailed 22-19 but responded with a side-out and a block to turn the momentum around and eventually win the set.
“I’m happy today because in the second set we took an important step forward,” Piazza said after the match.
“We had good motivation and energy, and all the players believed we could do something special, even when we were three points behind,” added the Italian.
“India was really playing well, but Iran continued to fight, and I’m very happy about that.”
Piazza still acknowledged that his team had room for further improvement, particularly in transition play.
“There were moments when our transition was not good, especially at the beginning of the second set,” he said. “That’s why we had to recover several points at the end, but this is a good step forward for the team.”
“My expectations are always very high, but the players have started to understand that some balls and some points can really make a difference,” Piazza said.
“This has to become one of the strengths of the Iranian team in the future.”
Valizadeh, meanwhile, praised India’s attacking and reception qualities despite the comprehensive defeat.
“We knew this match would be more difficult than our first one because India are a good team both in terms of spiking and reception,” said the Iranian middle blocker.
“India have shown that they are one of the respectable teams in the competition.”
“The second set was very tight, but eventually Iran managed to get the crucial points and take the lead,” Valizadeh said.
The top spot in the group will be up for grabs when Iran faces China on Wednesday, a significantly tougher test for Piazza’s men and a rematch of the 2023 semifinals, which Iran won in straight sets.
“It will be a difficult match because China are ranked higher than our previous two opponents, New Zealand and India. I hope Iran can put in a good performance and win the match to advance to the next round as group leaders,” said Valizadeh.
As if Iran needed extra motivation to chase a fifth continental title in eight editions and make up for the 2023 final setback at home against Japan in a likely showdown with the Asian powerhouse in Fukuoka, the champion will qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics – a far more realistic shot at securing a place in the sporting extravaganza compared with next year’s World Championship, where the top three will qualify, or the three remaining berths available through the FIVB World Rankings.
To that end, however, Piazza’s side will have to make a significant improvement on its disappointing Volleyball Nations League campaign in June, when Iran suffered nine defeats – including a 3-2 loss to Japan – in 12 outings to finish 14th in the 18-team preliminary-round table.