At A Glance
- CANDON CITY -- Kristina Belova took charge and helped Kazakhstan overcome a slow start to fend off Iran, 13-25, 25-20, 25-14, 25-19, and stay unblemished in the 2026 AVC Women's Volleyball Cup here at Candon City Arena Monday, June 8.
Kazakhstan goes three in a row at Iran's expense. (AVC)
CANDON CITY -- Kristina Belova took charge and helped Kazakhstan overcome a slow start to fend off Iran, 13-25, 25-20, 25-14, 25-19, and stay unblemished in the 2026 AVC Women's Volleyball Cup here at Candon City Arena Monday, June 8.
After failing to defend themselves from the early assault of their rivals, the Kazakh hitters shifted to a higher gear and stole the momentum out of the Iranians from the second set up to the fourth to seal the match and keep their record pristine in three games.
Iran, meanwhile, dropped to 0-2.
Belova was business, delivering 23 points on 21 attacks and two blocks, while Tatyana Yatskiv and Yuliya Fomenko chipped in 13 and 10 points, respectively for the No. 37 Kazakh side which faces Lebanon next on Thursday, June 11.
Fatemeh Khalili Chermahini, on the other hand, starred with 23 points off 17 spikes, two blocks, and four aces, while Elaheh Poorsaleh Shahdehsari backstopped her with 10 points for No. 44 Iran.
They now look to barge into the win column when they battle Lebanon Tuesday, June 9.
Meanwhile, No. 88 Hong Kong finally clinched its first win in three contests after stunning No. 78 Lebanon, 25-20, 25-8, 25-13, earlier in the day.
The 17-year-old Sum Yuen Tang rose to the occasion with 14 points, while Lam Shum logged 13 points for Hong Kong which goes for its second win against No. 70 Indonesia Tuesday, June 9.
Shantalle Marie Demirjian topped the Lebanese side’s offense with 10 points on nine attacks and one block, while Razan El hajj Hassan scored eight. Their record fell to 0-2.
Meantime, the No. 48 Philippines eyes to recover from a painful loss to Australia when it clashes with No. 72 Kyrgyzstan later Monday.