Iran beats China 3-2 in 3rd AVC Cup men's volleyball

The defending champion Iran edged China 3-2 (25-21, 22-25, 22-25, 25-19, 15-11) in the opener of the 3rd Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Cup in Vietnam's northern Vinh Phuc province on Saturday. One point divided the teams for the first minutes of the game, but Iran clung to lead the set after 10 points mark and then took the first set 25-21. Determined after dropping the first set, China rallied back in the second set with strong serves and continued to carry their dominance into the third set to take the two sets with identical score 25-22. In the fourth set, China lost focus and could not keep the form they showed in the last two sets, and let Iran take the lead of 25-19. ( In the tiebreaker, Iran rallied from 7-8 down, scoring four points in a row and winning the set 15-11. The 3rd AVC Cup for men is held from September 1-7 in Vietnam's Vinh Phuc Province, some 40 km north of capital Hanoi, with the participation of eight teams in two groups. Group A includes Vietnam, South Korea, Japan and Myanmar. Group B brackets China, Australia, India and Iran.