Russia Claims VNL Title Again, Iran Comes Fifth
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Russia successfully defended its FIVB Volleyball Nations League (VNL) title by defeating USA 3-1 (25-23, 20-25, 25-21, 25-20) on Sunday.
Last year the Russians beat host France to claim the first-ever VNL title.
Russia wing spiker Dmitry Volkov led the gold medalist with 17 points, including 13 via attack, two blocks and two aces. Wing spiker Egor Kliuka contributed 14 points in the victory, including a stellar 11-of-14 hitting, two aces and a block.
Poland also won the bronze medal match with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-21) win over Brazil.
“It feels fantastic because we are very proud,” said Volkov, who was named to the VNL Dream Team. “We are missing a lot of our top players, so we didn’t expect to win. We are very happy. With a new coach, we have a new team and played very strong throughout the VNL.”
Iran and France finished in fifth and sixth place respectively.
