After four consecutive league defeats, the Eagles needed to respond in Poitiers. A closely contested match saw Poitiers emerge victorious at the end of a very tight encounter.
Nine points in fourteen rounds. That is the grim record of Nice Volley-Ball in this 2023-2024 season. The Eagles’ last victory dates back to early December in the arena of Saint-Jean-d’Illac (3-2). Since then, nothing. The change of coach requires tactical adjustments that take time. But the days are slipping by, and opponents are moving up the standings. The immediate competitor, Paris, has a seven-point lead.
It is therefore high time to react, but as seen against Saint-Nazaire, the Niçois falter in the middle of the first set. Trailing by six points, Nice manages to come back into the set, notably thanks to blocks by Valerii Todua and Matteo Schalk. Despite this, the first set goes to the Poitevins (25-21).
An Insufficient Response
In the second set, Nice finally reacts! It is the captain Rodney Ah-Kong who sounds the charge. Well supported by his opposite hitter Simon Hirsch, who scored seven points in this set, Nice takes the lead and manages to snatch the second set (22-25).
The third act is almost a carbon copy. François Rebeyrol, already decisive at the end of the set, shines once again and allows the Eagles to take the advantage two sets to one (23-25). More focused and making fewer mistakes than their opponents, the Niçois seem on the right track to achieve a good result.
Except the Poitevins won’t let it go easily. Although Nice leads for a large part of the fourth set, Fabrice Chalendar’s men will crack two points from the match. Poitiers gets back into the game. The match will be decided in the fifth set.
Building on their momentum, Poitiers quickly takes a lead of five points. Nice is nowhere to be seen and only manages to score after the eighth point. Difficult, if not impossible, to come back into the game, which slips away once again from the Maralpins (15-8).
Now, they will have to overcome this disappointment next week against Tourcoing. See you next Saturday at 7 PM at the Giamarchi Palmeira arena.
