Tehran, Iran, May 19, 2022 – Mighty Peykan produced a magnificent come-from-behind 3-1 (34-36, 25-17, 25-21, 25-17) victory against Taraz VC to advance to the final showdown of the 2022 Asian Men’s Club Volleyball Championship at Azadi Hall on Thursday, chasing dreams of winning their eighth title.
Dutch Nimir Abdelaziz chipped in with 28 points for hosts Peykan including 25 attacks from 37 attempts, while Onolbek Kanybek Uulu led Taraz VC of Kazakhstan with 17 points including 15 attacks from 35 attempts.
Both Taraz VC and Peykan made a solid start for a 7-7 tie, but Taraz VC caught fire shortly after that, attacking spectacularly at the wing. They left Peykan behind 19-16 in the second technical time-out but the hosts could benefit from the unforced mistakes of Taraz VC and even 23-23. The long rally was full of ups and downs involving video challenges that finally Taraz VC clinched the first set 36-34.
With one set down, Peykan came back much stronger at the beginning of the second set. French Earvin Ngapeth and Nimir Abdelaziz were in devastating form as they joined forces in penetrating the Kazakh defence with powerful attacks to help Iran take a 16-13 lead, widen the gap and hold firm to clinch the set comfortably 25-17.
The third set was more thrilling with both sides trading points through attacks, blocks and serves to make it 11-11. Nimir Abdelaziz and Armin Tashakori remained the key forces to be reckoned with as they tore the Kazakh defence apart with their exceptional skills. The closely-contested set saw the hosts hold their nerves to bag 25-21 win in the set.
As the Kazakhs were riddled with several unforced attacking mistakes in the fourth set, the Iranian rivals grabbed the chance to counter-attack and block effectively to advance 13-5 and went on to win the set 25-17.
“The Kazakh team played marvellously in the first set but my players also fought for every ball. They acted very smart as they did not use three of their players who were playing against Shahdab and changed their plans. Congratulations to them for such a beautiful show tonight. Overall, my expectations from my team are met and congratulations to the fans and all the Iranian people for this victory and being the first finalists,” said Peyman head coach Peyman Akbari after the match.
For Peykan, the Friday’s showdown will be their eighth final in the Asian Men’s Club Championship. They had already entered the final in 2002, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and captured the Asian Club title in 2011 in Indonesia after stunning Kazakhstan’s Rahat Almaty 3-0 in the showdown.
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