World Volleyball League; Iran Defeated by the USA

The Iranian national volleyball team faced the USA in its first match of the 2015 World League and lost with a score of 1-3. The USA holds three Olympic gold medals, has a history of world championships, and is the defending champion in the World League. In the 10,000-seat arena in Los Angeles, about eight thousand Iranians were present cheering for the Iranian national team. The second match between Iran and the USA will take place at 3:30 AM on Monday. Slobodan Kovac expressed surprise at the performance of the USA but stated that Iran would appear differently in the second match. The Iranian volleyball players had traveled to the USA after two training camps in Finland and the Czech Republic. Saeid Marouf, Adel Gholami, Seyed Mohammad Mousavi, Abdolreza Alizadeh, Shahram Mahmoudi, Farhad Ghaemi, and Mojtaba Mirzajanpour were the main lineup for Iran at the start of the match. In the first set, the USA showcased its best performance, winning 25-19 with ball possession and net control for most of the game. In the second set, the two teams were tied at 8 points, but the USA took the lead again and won 25-22. In the third set, Iran displayed its best performance of the match, leading 12-5. The USA then regained momentum and even took a two-point lead. In this exciting and fluctuating game, the score was tied at 17-17, and ultimately, Iran, which holds the fourth title in the World League, prevented the host from winning three consecutive sets. Marouf's teammates won the third set 25-23. The fourth set was also tied at 14 points, and if Iran had won, they could have improved their standings even if they lost the next game. However, they lost the fourth set with the same score they had won the third. Shahram Mahmoudi was the highest scorer for Iran, while Taylor Sandler from the USA was the top scorer of the match. Shahram Mahmoudi told the Iranian Volleyball Federation website: 'We improved set by set. Many Iranians came, and it felt like we had a home game. We were upset that we couldn't make them happy. We will conduct a thorough analysis for the second game to reduce mistakes.' John Speraw, the head coach of the USA national team, told reporters: 'We need to include young players in our plans; Aaron Russell's performance in his first World League game was excellent. Our battle with Iran was a clash of two serving styles. When they served floaters, they performed better in defense. Conversely, when we served jump serves, it became difficult for them.' The president of the USA Volleyball Federation also stated: 'Iran had more preparation time. However, we are here to win. Our goal is victory. Defending our title in the World League is very important to us.' Doug Beal noted: 'Discussions have taken place regarding cooperation with Iran. Such relations have positive aspects for both countries. It was agreed to collaborate on beach volleyball and youth volleyball, as well as updating sports facilities.' In this context, Slobodan Kovac left Tehran 'with disappointment.'