Iran break the unlucky streak with win over Argentina

In a match marred by a high number of unforced errors Iran managed to beat Argentina 3-2 (25-22, 25-20, 21-25, 13-25 and 15-11) to earn its first victory of this year’s FIVB World League. With an exorbitant number of unforced errors (28 for Iran and 32 for Argentina) neither team was able to dominate the match for longer stretches. Iran’s Mohammadjavad Manavinezhad was tonight’s brightest star having scored 18 points. Without a victory in their first two matches of the season, Iran and Argentina were looking to break the unlucky streak tonight. The Persian side started more effectively on the side-out and the Argentinians with a better performance in block and serving.
Bruno Lima, Argentina, player: It was a tough match. We had the opportunity to win. I have a bittersweet feeling as we could have won, but also we improved our game from the other two previous matches.
Raul Lozano, Iran, coach: It is always hard dor me when I have to face Argentina. Julio Velasco is a great friend. I would rather to not be in that situation, but that is sport. We had a great game with a good performance on the side-out. We almost did not commit any mistakes in the tiebreak. But there is still room for improvements.
Saeid Marouf, Iran, captain: We played well against Argentina. The third and the fourth sets were tougher and the Argentinians showed a strong block and defense. We took all the opportunities we had in the tiebreak to win the match.