Italy gained their seventh entry to the Olympic semifinals, following their 3-0 (31-29, 25-19, 25-17) victory over Iran in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games men’s volleyball quarterfinals at Maracanazinho on Wednesday.
Three Italian players scored in double-figures, led by Ivan Zaytsev, Osmany Juantorena and Filippo Lanza.
The Iranian hitters were held to score in single digits. Shahram Mahmoudi led Iran with eight markers, then Adel Gholami and Mojtaba Mirzajanpour had seven points each.
Italy and Iran fought hard to the end of the opening set, enduring successive deadlocks and lead changes.
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