TEHRAN - Iran’s women’s national volleyball team secured a place in the quarterfinals of the 2026 AVC Women’s Volleyball Continental Championship after cruising to a straight-sets victory over Iraq on Tuesday.
Alireza Tolou Kian’s side dominated their final Pool A match in Tianjin, China, winning 3-0 with set scores of 25-4, 25-7 and 25-5.
Fatemeh Khalili finished as the match’s leading scorer with 14 points, while Reyhane Karimi contributed 13 points for Iran.
Iran completed the preliminary round with victories over Chinese Taipei and Iraq and a defeat against host China, collecting six points to secure its place among the tournament’s final eight teams.
After its victory over Iraq in the 2026 Asian Women’s Championship, the Iranian team has advanced two places in the World Federation rankings to 40th place for the first time by qualifying for the knockout stage of the Asian Championship.
The Iraanian women’s national volleyball team is now in 40th place in the world rankings with 109.82 points; a position achieved for the first time in the history of Iranian women’s volleyball and a new record for the team.
This rise comes at a time when the Iranian women’s national team crossed the 100-point mark in the world rankings for the first time a few days ago with a historic victory over Chinese Taipei.
The eight quarterfinalists will be placed in a combined ranking based on their preliminary-round performances and the relevant FIVB criteria.
The top-ranked team will face the eighth-ranked side, while the remaining quarterfinals will feature second against seventh, third against sixth and fourth against fifth.
The quarterfinals are scheduled to take place on Thursday, August 27.