Hamamatsu, Japan, September 12, 2015 – Poland outlasted Iran 3-2 (18-25, 23-25, 25-15, 25-20, 15-11) in the FIVB Volleyball Men's World Cup at Hamamatsu Arena on Saturday.
Poland coach Stephane Antiga: "One more hard game and big satisfaction with the win because it was very important. It’s always difficult against Iran. It’s true that for two years we have won more often but we always have to play good and it’s always interesting to play with (Mir Saeid) Marouf because he can change strategy. In the first set, Iran were dominating; they played better than us. We could have won the second set, but it was high-level volleyball. Once again, I want to speak about my substitutes, Drzyzga and Mika; they gave energy to the team and did a great job, and that’s a real team."
Poland captain Michal Kubiak: "We are very happy to win against Iran. We didn’t start the match as good as we expected to and they played amazing volleyball. We were a bit nervous but we were able to win 3-2 and in these circumstances I’m extremely happy we didn’t lose and continue our march to win this tournament."
Iran coach Slobodan Kovac: "Today we tried everything to play good volleyball and I think we did. To go 2-0 against Poland in a major championship is not so easy. After two sets, we didn’t stop playing but Poland returned; they started receiving very good and started to serve hard. I was angry about the red card at the start of the fifth set. At 12-11 it could have been 11-11 and maybe the set would have finished differently."
Iran captain Mir Saeid Marouflakrani: "It was a good match because both teams played very good volleyball. We started very well and thought we could win this match but in the end they played better than us. Poland are in great shape and it’s very difficult to play them. Today we fought and our players did a great job, so it’s a disappointment."