Agency :
Morteza Sharifi scored a game-high 20 points as Iran defeated China 3-1 in their opening fixture of the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Nations League (VNL) on Tuesday.
The outside spiker won 14 attacking points and four points on serve in addition to two blocks at the Nilson Nelson arena in Brazilian capital Brasilia. Captain Milad Ebadipour contributed 15 points and Amir Hossein Toukhteh 12 points for the Asian champions.
China’s top scorers were Yu Yuantai and Zhang Jingyin, both of whom finished with 20 points.
Iran took the first set 25-15 before China rebounded to take the second 25-19. Iran recovered to clinch the third set 25-22 and again prevailed 25-15 in the fourth to wrap up the match in one hour and 45 minutes.
China were depleted by the absence of captain Jiang Chuan due to an injury.
In Wednesday’s other match in Brasilia, the United States beat Slovenia 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-14).
The fixtures formed part of the VNL preliminary round. The top seven teams will contest the finals in Bologna, Italy, from July 20 to 24.
