USA complete reverse sweep to take first VNL victory

The United States showed a strong reaction to their opening-match setback in the Volleyball Nations League 2025 and came back from a two-set deficit to overcome Iran on Thursday and celebrate their first victory in the tournament.

One day after falling to Ukraine in straight sets, the Americans returned to the Marcanãzinho stadium, in Rio de Janeiro, and saw themselves down two sets again, but this time they managed to come back and produce a dramatic 3-2 (19-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-23, 17-15) victory against Iran to earn their first points in the VNL 2025.

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Competing in the first week of the VNL with an inexperienced roster, the Americans had 25-year-old opposite Kyle Hobus, who plays in Austria, with Hypo Tirol Innsbruck, as their leading scorer with 19 points (17 kills, two blocks).

Outside hitters Jordan Ewert, who spent the last club season in Italy with Rana Verona, and Cooper Robinson, who competes at the collegiate level with UCLA, also had strong showings, contributing 17 and 14 points, respectively.

The victory against the Iranians also made the Americans celebrate their first triumph under new head coach and volleyball legend Karch Kiraly, who left the country’s women’s national team after 12 successful seasons to work with the men in 2025.

“The guys have so much to be proud of, that was really a true team effort,” Kiraly said. “Lots of guys came in and changed the game for us. All of us are learning together. It was great that we got better as the match went along, and all credit goes to the guys.”

On the Iranian side, opposite Amin Esmaeilnezhad produced the first 30-point performance in the men’s VNL in 2025, getting to the mark with 25 kills, four aces and one block.

“We had a really good start today, and we wanted to keep playing at that same level,” Amin said. “But they started playing better and were better than us in the deciding moments. Now we have to keep going and focus on the next matches. We feel like we can improve in every aspect of the game with coach Piazza. We’re improving day by day, step by step.”

The result gave the Americans their first two points in the VNL 2025 and made them end the day in 12^th place. Iran now have one point and appear in 14^th place.

Earlier on Thursday in Rio, Cuba earned their first victory in the VNL by taking down hosts Brazil 3-2 (27-25, 26-24, 21-25, 20-25, 15-13).

VNL 2025 – Match Schedule & Results

The United States will have the day off on Friday, while Iran is set to play against Slovenia at 21:00 local time (00:00 GMT, Saturday). Earlier, at 17:30 (20:30 GMT), Cuba and Ukraine will meet in the first match of the day in Pool 1.

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