After an amazing match, Nice won 3-0 against Alès. It was the last home game for the Nicois before the final two games away.
What a match! Kicking play, yellow cards… We had everything in this match. It was hard to tell if it was Ligue B or Ligue A because the spectacle was there. Laurent Tillie, coach of the French volleyball team, present in the stands of the Palmeira hall, surely wasn’t disappointed by the show.
Alès, eleventh but five points from the play-offs, came to the Côte d’Azur with real ambitions. The start of the match was going to confirm the good form of the Gardois. The set was highly contested between a sharp Nice in attack but quite fragile in defense.
The Nicois offered a few points to their opponents. As with Patuc’s attack, Alès was not easily impressed. Mitrovic, 24 points (!) was very valuable in attack from the beginning of the match, and Nice finally won the first set 25-23 thanks to Mitrovic.
But it was the second set that was going to be devilish. Alès, riding the momentum from the first match, continued to pose problems for Nice. Certainly an unpleasant feeling for the Nicois, who are so dominant at home. Leading 20-17 (as in the first set), Nice had done the hardest part.
At least that’s what everyone thought. Conquering in long rallies, Raphael Corre’s partners were surprised and caught up 23-22 then 23-23 thanks to an ace from Prevel. From this equality, this set became a real back-and-forth. Tension appeared in the match between a Nice team eager to break away and an Alès team shaking Nice.
At 26-25, Alès even secured a set point. But the persistence of the Nicois got the better of the Gardois. At 33-32 and on the sixth set point, Borota served an ace to give his team the second set (34-32) in 38 minutes.
Far from demoralized, Alès started again with a bang. Unreserved, the Gardois even led 11-8. Taking advantage of the Nicois’ service errors (11 faults), Alès continued to raise the pressure in this match. Rarely, the Alésiens even received two yellow cards for talking a little too much with the referee.
In this third set, the crowd was urging their team to see a victory in three sets. Ultimately, the Nicois won 26-24 and claimed victory in three sets to zero. A painful victory despite the clear scoreline. A fair reminder for the Nicois who will have to remain vigilant until the play-offs.
But before facing the best teams in the championship, Nice will travel to Cambrai next Saturday. Will they return to winning ways away?
