TEHRAN - Iran’s national men’s volleyball team secured a spot in the semi-finals of the 2026 Asian Volleyball Championship on Friday after defeating Chinese Taipei 3-1 in their quarter-final match, setting up a clash against Australia.
 Under head coach Roberto Piazza, the Iranian squad claimed victory with set scores of 25-19, 25-19, 21-25, and 25-18. Iran is scheduled to face Australia in the semi-final round on Saturday at 14:00 local time.
Piazza fielded a starting lineup featuring Morteza Sharifi, Issa Naseri, Ali Hajipour, Pouriya Hossein Khanzadeh, Mohammad Valizadeh, Arshia Behnezhad, and libero Mohammad Reza Hazratpour. Following a tightly contested opening set, consecutive service aces from Sharifi and effective net play by Khanzadeh allowed Iran to break away before substitute Amin Esmaeilnezhad closed out the frame 25-19. Iran carried that momentum into the second set, relying on solid blocking from Naseri and Morteza Haghpparast alongside precise playmaking by Behnezhad to secure a matching 25-19 win.
Chinese Taipei responded in the third set, capitalizing on Iranian errors and execution lapses to establish an early 8-5 advantage that expanded to 15-8. Despite timeouts called by Piazza and a late rally fueled by Esmaeilnezhad’s service points, Chinese Taipei held on to capture the set 21-25.
Esmaeilnezhad joined the main lineup for the fourth set, delivering crucial offensive points alongside defensive blocks from Khanzadeh. Re-establishing control over the tempo, Iran steadily pulled ahead before closing the set 25-18 to wrap up the match 3-1 and advance to the final four.