Foolad Defeats Lube in FIVB Club World Championship 2024
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Reigning Asian champion Foolad Sirjan of Iran beat Italian giant Cucine Lube Civitanova 3-2 (25-21, 14-25, 24-26, 25-23, 16-14) on the opening day of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship 2024 Tuesday in Uberlândia, Brazil.
Making just their second appearance in the tournament, Foolad secured its first-ever victory at the world stage, beating the 2019 world champion Lube in a five-set battle that saw it come out on top in Pool A.
The MVP in their campaign at the Asian Championship, opposite Ali Hajipour led the team’s offense with 18 points (16 kills, two blocks). Outside hitter Alireza Abdolhamidi, with 15 points (13 kills, one block, one ace), and middle blocker Mohammad Valizadeh, with 12 (eight kills, two blocks, two aces), also had solid performances.
Lube’s French two-time Olympic champion middle blocker Barthélémy Chinenyeze topped all scorers with 21 points (16 kills, three aces, two blocks). Bulgarian outside hitter Aleksandar Nikolov and Turkish opposite Adis Lagumdzija contributed 18 and 17 points, respectively.