Brazil. Debutant Belgium continues to surprise in the Volleyball Nations League. After their 3:1 victory over Bulgaria on the first day of the tournament, the Belgians recorded a second win, defeating Iran 3:2 (25:23, 25:22, 23:25, 17:25, 15:12), even though they were on the verge of squandering a two-set lead.
The Iranians showed character and fought back into the match after winning the third and fourth sets, but in the tie-break, they couldn't complete the full comeback. The loss cost the Asian team one spot in the world ranking, with Iran dropping to 17th position, while Belgium maintains 14th place before the remaining five matches of the tournament's first week are played.
Statistics show a minimal superiority for Belgium in the overall score – 107 against 105 points. Iran, however, dominated in attack with 68 points scored against 53 for their opponent and was more effective in blocking – 10 against 5. The Belgians compensated with better serving (6 aces against 5) and most notably with a huge number of points coming from opponent errors – 41 against 24.
In the other elements, Iran also had a slight advantage – 58 against 56 digs in defense, 88 against 75 successful receptions, and 118 against 101 successful sets.
The top scorer for the winners was Reggers with 24 points, followed by Perin with 20. For Iran, Haghparast was above all with 27 points, and Haji added 11.
Following this victory, Belgium temporarily holds 10th place in the VNL standings, while Iran remains in the unlucky 13th position.

photo: Nikolay Varadinov