In a series of preparation matches for the FIVB Volleyball Men’s Nations League, Iran beat Serbia 3-1 in Kraljevo, Serbia, on Friday.
In the first match of the national team in the current Iranian year (started March 21), volleyball players had a morale-boosting win against their powerful rival on their way to the Nations League slated for May 25-July 8, IRNA reported.
The first set was in favor of the Serbs as they defeated Iran 25-21. But Iran’s Montenegrin coach Igor Kolakovic kept the initial startup combination for the second set and started it with dominance.
Iranian giants created a 5-point gap in the beginning and finished the set 25-21 so that both teams would be equal in wining sets 1-1.
In the third set the two teams had a close encounter but at last it was Iran which emerged as the victor -- 27-25 in a hard-fought match. The fourth set was decisive for Iran and it brought major changes in the combination for the team as Kolakovic decided to send younger players to the court. And finally Iranians hammered Serbs 25-17 to win the match with the overall 3-1 result.
Although they still have some way to go, Iranian fortunes have been on the rise in recent years including their first-ever appearance in the World League finals in 2014, which ended in fourth place after a loss to Italy in the bronze medal match, as well as their Olympic debut at the Rio 2016 Games, where they finished fifth.
Iran has played in the FIVB Volleyball World Championship for the past three years and finished sixth in 2014 in Poland. It has also had continental success beating Japan in 2014 to win the gold medal at the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.
Sixteen teams qualified for the competition. Twelve of them qualified as core teams which cannot face relegation. Other four teams were selected as challenger teams which could be relegated from the tournament
Twelve core teams are Iran, Argentina, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Russia, Serbia and the US.
Countries Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, and South Korea are challenger teams which could face relegation.
A total of 22 cities in the participating countries will host the games across five continents. The final round is set for Lille, France.
