Tehran, Iran, June 26, 2015 - Iran were again in spectacular form in FIVB Volleyball World League Pool A tonight as they defeated world champions Poland in five sets 3-2 (25-21, 23-25, 21-25, 25-16, 15-11).
Poland had won their last four World League matches against Iran after losing the first two. They had defeated Iran 3-1 and 3-2 at home this season, with Bartosz Kurek scoring 30 points for them in the 3-1 victory on June 5. Iran, however, have demonstrated how strong they are at home, defeating 2014 World League champions USA twice last weekend.
Iran began confidently in the first set, leading to 8-5 and 16-13 at the second technical timeout and closing the set at 25-21. Poland, however, charged back into contention in set two, challenging the hosts continuously. Their efforts paid off as Grzegorz Lomacz won the final point at 23-25. Set three followed a similar pattern, with both teams anxious to stay in contention and the visitors again claiming the advantage.
Sets four and five saw Iran power back into the match in another demonstration of their ability to take on any opponent on home turf. As many as five Iranian players were in double digits this evening, including Shahram Mahmoudi with 18. The hosts won set four with a margin of nine points at 25-16 and the decider went their way at 15-11.
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