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Iran Beats Argentina in Five-Set Thriller

Iran was the master of the five-set play and showed exactly why in the decider. With relentless consistency and flawless sideouts, Iran got to the change of ends at 8-6 and never looked back from there
Iran Beats Argentina  in Five-Set Thriller
Iran Beats Argentina  in Five-Set Thriller

Iran’s national volleyball team won the five-set thriller against Argentina thanks to Milad Ebadipour’s outstanding performance on Friday in San Juan, Argentina.

Milad Ebadipour’s stunning attacking display helped Iran secure a nail-biting 3-2 victory (21-25, 25-22, 25-22, 24-26, 15-9) over Argentina in the Volleyball Nations League, FIVB.com wrote.

Ebadipour was the focus of his team’s offense and his consistent power proved crucial as host Argentina put up a stirring fight but was unable to capitalize on home court advantage and narrowly failed to grab its first VNL win.

The combination of Ebadipour (16 attacking points) and Amir Ghafour, who collected 10 winners, was critical as Iran piled on the pressure in the decisive fifth set to show nerves of steel once more. Igor Kolakovic’s team has now won its last six five-setters and is grateful for this, the second triumph of the tournament.

Argentina’s firepower came from the skillful strikes of Facundo Conte, who was instrumental in putting his side off to a strong start, then later spearheading a spirited fightback to pull things level. Ultimately, however, the home squad was left to rue a high error count that saw the team rack up 40 mistakes over the course of the contest.

  Lost But Honored

When the San Juan crowd shared their team’s disappointment at the eventual outcome, they were quick to pay tribute to Argentina’s effort, showering the players with a rousing standing ovation at the end of the game.

If not for a few key moments, things might have turned out differently. Argentina came out full of positive intent and rode the fine play of Cristian Poglajen to a first set victory, in which Poglajen got on the board five times before Agustin Loser clinched the frame with an imposing block on set point.

Iran had no intention of going away quietly and with Kolakovic demanding improvement, tightened up the game in impressive fashion. An inspired run of serving from Ebadipour was the key in both opening up a late advantage and quieting the crowd, giving the visitors a lead they would not surrender.

Supported ably by the persistent efforts of Mojtaba Mirzajanpour and Seyyed Mohammad Mousavi, Ebadipour continued his streak of form in the third. After Argentina started strongly and moved ahead through Conte and Bruno Lima’s attacking prowess, Iran chipped away at the deficit and saved its best play for the end. Two huge spikes from Ghafour secured set point, and Ebadipour blow to win the set was even more emphatic.

Argentina was not finished yet, and when Iran captain Saeid Marouf became frustrated as a couple of disputed decisions went the other way, the host opened up a five-point gap. Iran ground away and eventually came close to finishing the clash in four sets, before Sebastian Sole and Martin Ramos held firm when it mattered.

But Iran was the master of the five-set play and showed exactly why in the decider. With relentless consistency and flawless sideouts, Iran got to the change of ends at 8-6 and never looked back from there. Appropriately, Ebadipour and Ghafour were the biggest contributors once more, before Farhad Salafzoon made the most of an Argentina error to seal the win.

Argentina’s schedule does not get any easier with in-form Canada next up, while Iran faces Italy on Sunday.

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