Russia Defeats Iran to Record Second Victory

Two-time tournament winners Russia claimed the second victory of the 2021 FIVB Volleyball Nations League in as many matches with a 3-1 (25-17, 20-25, 25-20, 25-17) result against Iran on Saturday. Maxim Mikhaylov was the top scorer for the reigning VNL champions with 22 points.

What the players said:

Igor Kobzar (RUS): Every win is important. Iran coach Vladimir Alekno knows most of the Russian players and our style of play, but we didn’t try to surprise him with our lineup or with anything else. We just wanted to play our game and show our best. Step by step, we want to improve. It was interesting to see this Iranian starting six, and I think it helped Iran to play without pressure.

Milad Ebadipour (IRI): We knew that we had to expect a tough game, because we played against Russia, one of the best teams in the world. They were really good, they were better than us, especially in the physical aspects of the match. I have to praise our young players, because they played really well. They pushed a lot and I think the Russians could feel it. Of course, we could have won this game, but we made some small mistakes during the match.