Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, May 14, 2017 – Iran brushed off Malaysia in straight sets 25-21, 25-23, 25-16 in their Pool D preliminary match at the SMM 2nd Asian Women’s U23 Volleyball Championship at The Mall Nakhon Ratchasima’s MCC Hall on Sunday.
Malaysia, which earlier thrashed New Zealand in straight sets in their opening match the previous day, started confidently to take a commanding 10-0 lead in the first set, but after that, Iran staged a fightback, gradually pulling their game together to clinch a comeback 25-21 set. The second set appeared to be a nail-biting contest, but Iran proved steadier to snatch a hard-fought 25-23 set.
Malaysia tried to make amends in the third set, hoping to bring their form back on track, but their attempts were in vain. Iran went on aggressive spikes and solid blocks to take an easy 25-16 set and match.
“This is our first match of the tournament, so we were quite nervous. It was quite tough in the first set as our opponents played well and we also made so many errors. But after we got adapted to the court conditions, we came back to our own game and were able to play fast. I am very happy for our first victory,” Iran’s head coach Sedighi Sima said after the match.
“We trained together for only two months before playing in this tournament. Our goal is to finish among the top four teams,” she added.
Fatemeh Amini topscored with 11 points for Iran, while Mona Ashofteh added 10 points. Low Mei Cing and Alicia Yii led Malaysia with 13 and 7 points respectively.
Iran will next play New Zealand on Monday.
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