TEHRAN – Iran national volleyball team coach Igor Kolakovic says his team played far beyond his expectations in Week 1 of the men’s 2019 FIVB Volleyball Nations League.

Team Melli, who had started the campaign with two wins over Italy and China 3-0, defeated Germany in straight sets (30-28, 29-27, 25-20) on Sunday.

Mohammad Mousavi top scored Iran with 13 points, while Germany’s Simon Hirsch was the match top scorer with 17 points.

 “We earned three successive wins and just lost one set. Honestly, I expected good performance from my team but Team Melli played far beyond my expectations,” Kolakovic said at the post-match news conference.

“Germany were a tough opponent since they are strong in reception but we defeated team with our good serves. I think we made some mistakes in attacking but we will be better in the next matches. I hope the Iranian people enjoyed a beautiful match because this is the most important thing for us,” he added.

“We fight for every match. We won our third match and I am sure we will be better in the coming matches,” Kolakovic concluded.

Iran will play Japan, Argentina and Brazil in Week 2 in Tokyo.

The Persians will face Brazil on Thursday and play Argentina and Japan in the following days.