For the 19th day of League B, Nice-Volley was hosting the Normans from Canteleu. The match was expected to be easier than the fixtures against Lyon and Asnières-sur-Seine, but Ciprian Mattei’s teammates made it difficult and broke their streak of four consecutive victories (21-25 / 25-20 / 25-21 / 19-25 / 13-15).
Before the match began, Mladen Kasic’s players were coming off an impressive victory against Asnières-sur-Seine and could continue their series of four consecutive wins with the reception of Canteleu. But it was a pity for the people of Nice. Mladen Kasic’s players missed out on a fifth consecutive victory. They faced a good Norman team, which absolutely had nothing to lose in this match.
Pierrick Grossin, Dario Dukic, and Vadim Evtoukhovitch enabled their team to take control of the match. The Norman attackers and spikers executed well-placed attacks to win the first set, 25 to 21. It was a cold shower for everyone in the Palmieri Hall, as the people of Nice hadn’t yet entered their game. But watch out for the Nice awakening. Indeed, it did not take long to arrive.
Ciprian Mattei, Eldin Demirovic, Matija Sabljak, and company finally found their rhythm. After mastering the second set, the Azurians drove the nail by winning the fourth set (25-20 / 25-21). One might have thought that Cristian Bartha’s teammates would finish with a flourish… far from it. It was then the turn of the Normans to come back from the brink. Wojciech Fabianczyk’s players brought doubts back to the Blue and Yellow. Then came a final tight tie-break that leaned towards the North (13-15). With this defeat, Nice-Volley occupies the 8th place while their evening opponents slightly close in on them.
The Azurians are 4 points away, before the end of the 19th day’s matches this Saturday, from Orange, the last team qualified for the play-offs. Cristian Bartha’s teammates will travel next Saturday to the floor of Plessis-Robinson. A challenging trip is anticipated to the court of the current 3rd in League B.
