Tokyo, July 4, 2006 -- Australia's national men's team moved on to Italy for training matches in good heart after drawing a fiercely-fought four-match series 2-2 in Iran.
The Aussies won the opening and the closing matches of the series in Tehran, their first victory on June 19 marking the first time Australia had beaten Iran on their home court in the history of competition between the two countries.
"It was also Australia's first win over them since 1993," said Kim Neilson, sport coordinator for men's volleyball at the Australian Institute of Sport.
"This result is all the more exciting due to the young age of the team," he added.
The series opener between the two World Championship contenders was a close five-set match which Australia eventually won 23-25, 25-23, 19-25, 25-23, 15-12. Campbell, with 13 points, including five stuff blocks, Yudin (18) and Alderman (6) were Australia's best players.
Head coach Russell Borgeaud said it was "very exciting for the guys to get their first win of the tour here in Iran," after Australia had been swept 3-0 by China in a series in Beijing.
"As I always say, the young players will always improve -- and they certainly are on this tour. They still have runs of 'junior' errors but they also make runs of incredible points in attack and block that we haven't been able to do before," said Borgeaud.
"One of the most pleasing things when looking at the stats is how even the points scoring was shared between all the players. We had many good players and they all contributed at various times, sometimes in different positions."
Commenting on the Iranian team, Borgeaud said: "They are going through a bit of a change of players -- and coaches -- and despite having won lots of junior tournaments over the years they seem to be struggling in some areas."
The Australians now travel to Italy for training matches at the site of the new AIS European Training Centre.
At the World Championships in Japan this November, Australia will play Brazil, France, Greece, Cuba and Germany in Pool B based in Fukuoka.
The Australians form a wall of blockers against Iran
