Hangzhou, China, July 3, 2023 – Iran became the last team to secure their spot in Top 8 following a straight-set 25-15, 25-20, 25-16 win against Australia at China Textile City Sports Centre Gymnasium here on Monday afternoon.
Opposite Afzouni Laya topscored with 14 points for Iran, followed by Ghadamitabaghdehi Masi and Heidarigoujani Tina with 12 and 11 respectively.
Iran got off to a flying start to lead with an 8-point clear at 9-1. It took quite a while for the Australians to adjust their state. Despite saving four set points from 11-24 to 15-24, Australia had to hand out the first set 15-25 following a disappointing service error.
Australia’s Captain and Libero Sienna Arthur fought hard to organize her team’s offense in the second set, which facilitated the team to keep up with the Iranians. However, they committed consecutive errors at the late phase, ruining themselves to a smaller deficit (20-25) loss.
The same situation repeated at the beginning of the third set. Australia still could not make it to consolidate their defense in spite of their height advantage. Iran dictated the rhythm for a sweeping victory by closing the set 25-16.
“Today we’ve prepared for Iran’s attack. Unfortunately, our control for the game was a bit lacking so we were not able to score the point we could have done,” Australia head coach Rachael Georgieff said at the Mixed Zone .
“It was a good game. Our team showed their good performance. We will forget this game and prepare for tomorrow.” Iran’s head coach Fatemeh Shabankhamseh said after the match.
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