More than six months after their last match, the players of Nice Volley-Ball returned to the Giamarchi/Palmeira hall. With the goal of aiming for the play-offs.
New coach, new team, new ambitions. The Nice Volley-Ball season started this Saturday late in the day. Against Toulouse, the goal was, of course, to win but mainly to test themselves after two months of preparation. Both teams finished at the bottom of the table last season (Toulouse 11th and Nice 13th). They had faced each other during the penultimate day, and Nice narrowly won (3-2). In the overall matchups, Toulouse leads with twelve victories against eight for Nice.
At the beginning of the match, it was the Nice team who dictated the pace. The Eagles quickly took the lead. Bolstered by a very good performance from François Rebeyrol, Nice held on until the end of the first set before being caught up. In the end, it was Toulouse that clinched the first set, slightly against the run of play (23-25).
The second set was more contested. Even though Nice made more errors than Toulouse, the Nice team was more precise in attack. This allowed them to pull ahead at the end of the set and equalize (25-21).
Nice Volley-Ball delivered a very contested match
After that, it was Toulouse that got back into the match by taking the third set. Despite a solid performance from the Eagles, Toulouse built a significant lead (up to seven points ahead). Rodney Ah-Kong’s teammates lost the third set (22-25).
However, Nice did not let themselves be overwhelmed and pushed to snatch the tie-break in their hall. Encouraged by the over 600 people present, the Eagles resisted the Toulouse comeback to tie the match again (25-22).
The decisive set was highly contested, reflecting the whole match. Ultimately, it was the Eagles who made the difference with their blocks. Nice won the tie-break (15-13) and the match at the same time.
A great way to start the championship. The next match is on Saturday, October 28, in Saint-Nazaire.
