2019 VNL Finals: Iran 1-3 Poland

Iran have begun their debut Volleyball Nations League finals campaign, with a disappointment, after going down 3-1 against back to back world champions Poland.

According to Press TV, the Asian aces, who had defeated Poland in 5 sets in the preliminary round, got off to a highly promising start in Chicago on Thursday, racing to a dominant 25-21 win in the opener.

That 1st set however, served more as a wake up call for the Poles than as a launch pad for Iran’s team, as the Europeans immediately restored parity with a 25-18 win in the 2nd.

The Poles, who had surprised Olympic champions Brazil 3-2 in the first match of the finals a day earlier, powered through the next two sets 25-20 and 25-22 to qualify from pool B for the semifinals, leaving Iran in need of a win against Brazil on Friday to make it through.

Leading the scoring for Poland was Bartosz Bednorz with 24 points while Amir Ghafour amassed 22 for Iran.

ME