Formidable Iran bounced back from a stunning first-set loss to beat hosts Kyrgyzstan in dramatic four sets to stay atop the standing of the 2023 Central Asian Volleyball Association (CAVA) Men’s Volleyball Nation’s League at the Sports and Recreation Complex Gazprom in Cholpon-Ata on Friday.
The comeback 3-1 (11-25, 25-14, 25-20, 25-22) victory handed Iran the consecutive fourth win in the eight-day tournament, claiming 12 points from four matches. Kyrgyzstan dropped to third position with 9 points from 3 wins against one loss to the unbeaten rivals.
Iran made a dismal start to go down 11-25 in the opening set, but hit back mightily, with Abolfazi Mahdian providing most of the ammunition in the team’s attacks to take the next two sets 25-14, 25-20.
The game then came into a see-saw affair in the fourth set as neither side was able to lead commandingly. However, with the greater experience and form, the Iranians came up big at the end to win the crucial set 25-22 and match.
Abolfazi Mahdian led the Iran’s offense with 21 points from 18 attacks, one block and 2 aces, while Taha Behboudnia added 17 points. Junusov Omurbek contributed 12 points including 9 attacks for Kyrgyzstan, with Kanybek Uulu Onolbek and Shilov Roman adding 11 points apiece.
Earlier, Mongolia struggled to beat spirited Uzbekistan in grueling five-setter 25-18, 25-20, 14-25, 22-25, 15-7.
Gantulga Tsend-Ayush chipped in with 15 points including 11 attacks for Mongolia. Teammates Sukhee Nyamsukh and Battur Batsuuri added 12 points apiece. Kuchkorov Azizbek led Uzbekistan with 14 points.
Mongolia surged ahead Kyrgyzstan to the second place at the team standing with 11 points from 4 wins against one loss, while Uzbekistan dropped to the fifth position with 4 points from one win against 3 losses.
In another match of the day, Kyrgyzstan2 went down 23-25 in the first set against Nepal, but counter-attacked to take the next two sets 29-27, 25-22. The host side succumbed to 11-25 loss in the totally one-sided fourth set, but held firm to take the hotly-contested fifth set 16-14 for the eventual 3-2 win.
Abylkasymov Nooruzbek scored a team-high 21 points including 20 attacks from 45 attempts for Kyrgyzstan2, while Shrestha Man Bahadur topscored with 27 points for Nepal.
Kyrgyzstan2 came in fourth position with 5 points from 2 wins against 2 losses, as Nepal remained winless to finish on the bottom 7th place with only one point awarded. Turkmenistan had no match on Friday to remain at the 6th overall with 3 points from one win against 3 losses.
The single round-robin tournament continues on Saturday, with Turkmenistan taking on Uzbekistan, Iran challenging Kyrgyzstan2 and Mongolia going up against Kyrgyzstan.
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