TEHRAN – Italy defeated Iran 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 26-24) in the 2023 Volleyball Nations League (VNL) Week 2 on Wednesday.

Alessandro Michieletto scored 15 points for Italy and Iran’s Morteza Sharifi earned eight points.

Iran, who had defeated Germany 3-0 in their opening match, are scheduled to play the U.S. and the Netherlands on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

The VNL Preliminary Phase will feature three weeks of competition, with each of the 16 teams playing 12 matches.

The eight best-ranked national teams in the Preliminary Phase will qualify for the Final Phase, which will be held in Gdańsk, Poland, from July 19-23 – host country Poland are already guaranteed a spot.