TEHRAN, Aug. 30 (MNA) – Iran’s volleyball squad at 2017 Summer Universiade downed Russian rivals to stand on top of the podium.

Volleyball outfit of Iranian university students met Russia in the finals of 2017 Summer Universiade underway in Chinese Taipei. At the end of the breath-taking showdown, the Persian side managed to pulled out a hard-fought 3-2 victory over the Eurasian opponent in a 5-set thriller.

In the opening set, Iran soon took the lead securing a 25-17 win. Meanwhile, it was Russia who came back to the match and gained the upper hand in the following two sets, winning both 25-15 and 25-23 respectively.

Iranians resurged from the ashes in the two finals sets by offering remarkable athletic dexterity and taking both sets 25-23 and 15-13.

The victory brought Iran the first ever title in the volleyball category of Summer Univesiade event.

In the unbeaten run towards the finals, national volleyball players routed Cyprus, the UAE, Argentina, Switzerland and Canada in the preliminary round and, as the top team in Pool D, advanced to the quarterfinals where they thrashed the Czech Republic in straight sets. The semifinal round saw Iran defeating Ukrainian rivals.

The 2017 Summer Universiade, the XXIX Summer Universiade, commonly known as the Taipei 2017 Universiade, is being held in Taipei, Taiwan. It takes place from 19 August to 30 August 2017.

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