Iran's Volleyball Team Defeated in Final Match of World League

The Iranian national volleyball team faced Russia in its final match of the 2015 World League and lost 3-1. This was Russia's first victory after 11 consecutive defeats. Iran lost the first set narrowly 25-23. They also lost the third and fourth sets with scores of 25-18 and 25-21. The teammates of Saeed Marouf managed to win only the second set 25-19 against the Olympic champions. With this defeat, Iran remained at 18 points and finished third in the standings. Considering Poland's victory over the USA in their first match and Poland's total of 22 points, Iran missed out on the finals. Kovač's team had previously won three matches against Russia, but in the absence of Shahram Mahmoudi and on a good day for the tall Muzerskiy, they lost the match. Russia appeared motivated and hardworking to avoid relegation to the B level of the World League and celebrated their first victory in their last game. Alexander Klimkin stated in a press conference after his team's victory that they knew Iran might not have enough motivation, which is why he instructed the players to play comfortably. He was very satisfied with Muzerskiy, who played as a back-row player despite being primarily a middle blocker. The interim Russian coach explained that they had six injuries, and undoubtedly, a different team would be seen in the World Cup. The Iranian coach announced that his second team would participate in the Asian Championship, stating that their current points are sufficient for Olympic participation, but the points from the Asian Championship are not enough to change their ranking. In the last match of Group B, the USA won 3-1 in their second match hosted by Poland. The Americans won the first and second sets but lost the third, leading to a fourth set where they won 25-23, thus avenging their defeat the previous night and advancing as group leaders.