Mighty Russia beats Iran at volleyball World Cup

The Iranian volleyball team was defeated by Russia in straight sets on the second day of fourth-round action at the 2011 FIVB Men's World Cup on Saturday in Japan. Julio Velasco’s men lost 3-0 (31-29, 25-21, 25-18) to giant Russia in Tokyo’s Yoyogi National Gym. Iran played well at the outset and had the chance to take the opening set, but missed the opportunity and could not recover. “I congratulate Russia for the win and making to the Olympics. We started well and could have won the first set. If we had we might have had a chance,” Velasco said in a post-match news conference. “Our attack and middle blocking was weak in the second set. This was a good match for our team to learn what it is like to play against the best,” he added. Maxim Mikhaylov (15 points) and Denis Biriukov (14 points) powered the Russian attack in the win. Amir Ghafour had a match-high 19 points for Iran in the loss and was named the most impressive player of the match. “We played the best team in the world. We tried our best. They were more experienced. In the future, we will play better when we play against teams like Russia,” Ghafour sdaid.