Porya Yali's 29 points helped Iran take down European powerhouse Russia to win gold in the 2017 FIVB Volleyball Boys' U19 World Championship
Riffa, Bahrain, August 27, 2017 – Porya Yali’s sure-fire performance helped Iran to record a 3-1 (25-20, 25-23, 21-25, 25-20) win over Russia in the gold medal match of the FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U19 World Championship at the Isa City Sports Hall on Sunday.
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Yali scored 29 points to lead all scorers, then Morteza Sharifi charted 19 points to guarantee the gold medal win for Iran. Maksim Sapozhkov, who came off the bench in the second set, top scored for Russia with 16 points.
Iran got off to an aggressive start with 17 attacks to take the first set at 25-20. The Russian block caused some problems for Iran but Sharifi and Yali still sneaked in a win for Iran at 25-23. Melnikov’s presence at net was key for Russia’s 25-21 comeback win in the third set. In the hotly contested fourth set, Iran scored on two crucial blocks that gave them a 22-20 lead until Yali sealed championship victory at 25-20 with a towering spike.