Iran made the most out of Bulgaria’s errors in serves in the first two sets and took home the win (25-22, 25-20). The host had a comeback in the third set and claimed it 25-22 with the huge energy received from the fans. After a neck to neck race in the fourth set when the two teams had earned 12 points, The Asian Games champion won five of the next seven points and closed the set 25-19.
Mohammadjavad Manavinezhad led the scoring for Iran with 21 points while Bulgaria’s best scorer was Todor Skrimov with 18 points.
“We enjoyed the game and Bulgaria played well. I thank my players for the patience they showed and of course for the win against a very well prepared and experienced team like Bulgaria. We tried to control the game in all sets, but the crowd reflected on us and probably that was the reason for losing the third set,” said head coach of Iran Igor Kolakovic, FIVB website reported.
Iran is in Group D of the competitions along with reigning champion Poland, Bulgaria, Cuba, Finland, and PUERTO RICO.
Iran now ranks second in the group, just behind Poland. The top three teams of the group will advance to the next stages of the games.
The 2018 FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship is the 19th staging of the tournament hosted by Italy and Bulgaria from 9 to 30 September 2018. 24 national teams are competing in four groups of six. The second round of the competitions will kick off on 21 September with the 14 teams that have advanced from their group stage. The champion team will be determined on 30 September.
Iran will take on Cuba in the next game on Saturday.
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