By Marie Louise Principe
Chiba, Japan, September 17, 2021 – Iran inked their Final Four appearance in the 21st Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship, after a straight-sets win, 3-0 (25-10, 25-23, 25-11) against Chinese Taipei for the Quarterfinal Stage – Pool F on Friday at Chiba Port Arena.
Iran hitters Saber Kazemi amd Amir Hossein Esfandiar scored 15 points and 11 points respectively. Chinese Taipei’s Chang Yu-Sheng scored 12 points in the defeat.
Iran started with their usual, reliable line-up, allowing setter Javad Karimi to establish the tempo.
Captain Milad Ebadipour and Kazemi worked at the wing, while Aliasghar Mojarad manned the middle.
Chinese Taipei resorted to doing the opposite, by mostly utilizing their usual substitutes. They showed that they could play along their opponents in some sequences, but they were unable to get a good grip of their rhythm.
Iran proved to dominate the first set, winning 25-10.
Chinese Taipei’s young squad showed more aggression and determination in the second set. They played more relaxed yet more confident, running tight plays and even connecting with combination plays. Chang Yu-Sheng scored off several swings from the right side while Yen Chen-Fu completed a huge block.
Iran responded well with their reliable line-up, keeping the scores close with each side-out. Kazemi scored off an ace to bring Iran to set point, while Ebadipour struck from left side to finish the second set at 25-23.
By the third set, Iran coach Ataei Nouri Behrouz started to utilize substitute players who performed equally well on court. Ebadipour and Esfandiar stayed on to support the bench players, providing ample scoring.
The Chinese Taipei side continued to find ways to match their opponents level, and still came up with good runs on the attack and block.
However, the Iran team was playing with much more composure, coordination, and maturity, winning 25-11 in the final set.
Iran will now set their sights on the semifinals on Saturday to ensure title defense, to add to their prior championship trophies in 2011, 2013, and in the most recent 2019 edition.
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