Iran won their friendly match against Iran in straight sets
Katowice, Poland, May 21, 2017 – Igor Kolakovic’s Iran team and Ferdinando De Giorgi’s Poland squad played a friendly match on Sunday in front of the latter’s 11,000 home fans.
Poland defeated Iran 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-23) in their first friendly match of the season, while Iran have played four friendly matches against Montenegro and Slovenia.
The Asian powerhouse squad won two friendly matches over Montenegro, then made split victories with Slovenia. They will also have one friendly match with Australia at Katowice.
Poland managed to close each set after resistance from their rivals utilising their strong serves and blocks.
“We played with intensity after two weeks of hard work and we won because we committed fewer mistakes,” De Giorgi said.
“This friendly match will help me spot the team’s weak points,” Kolakovic said. “I am happy that we can play against Poland, especially with the kind of weapons they have. For example, we played smart against their strong serves. We had a smart performance in some parts of the game, but not the whole game. We started very well in the first part of each set but then we lost our concentration.”
Iran and Poland will face again in the 2017 FIVB Volleyball World League Group 1. Iran will play Poland on the first week in Italy and then on the third week in Poland.
The match also marked the retirement of Krzysztof Ignaczak from the national team after playing in 321 international matches.