SOFIA, Bulgaria, October 1, 2021 - Iran
celebrated with a 3-1 (25-15, 25-19, 17-25,
25-23) win over Cuba in the second playoff game
for a spot in the ninth-place match in Sofia.
Their complete domination in the first set was
crowned with middle blocker Amir Hossein
Toukhteh’s blistering kill for the last point.
Led by Alexei Ramirez, Cuba stepped up their
attacks, but came across impenetrable Iranian
blocks, which produced seven stuff towards a
second set win, shaped up by Mahdi Jelveh and
Bardia Saadat’s two-men block. In the next two
sets, the squad from the Caribbean island
further improved their spiking, as well as the
blocking, but managed to win only one.
Despite a 10-point tally by Cuban captain Marlon
Yant in the fourth, the set and the match went
Iran’s way on an off-the-block hit by Amin
Khalili. |