Last night, the team from Nice touched down after their 3-0 home defeat against the league leader Tours. They tried everything but to no avail. Dominated in all aspects of the game, their streak of seven consecutive wins came to an abrupt halt at the Giamarchi Arena.
The first defeat of the 2019 calendar year is very hard to swallow for Mladen Kasic and his men. After surfing through the entire Ligue A, the Azurรฉens faltered against a stronger opponent. The last defeat of the NVB was on December 22 against this same team (3-1).
In the first set, the yellow and blue team was unrecognizable, committing error after error. Some disgruntlement could be sensed within the group, even though the match had just begun. The set ended 18-25 in favor of Tours.
Number 14 of TVB, Nathan Wounembaina, surprised with his unconventional serves. His touches on the ball are light yet devastating. He has the ability to add a topspin effect to the ball while slicing it. Impressive.
So close, yet so far.
In the last two sets, the Nice team managed to regroup to push Tours back into their trenches. Unfortunately, the effectiveness and determination of the Tours players quelled the aspirations of Nice. Service faults and defensive errors did not help the Azurรฉens.
The supporters were outstanding and gave their players a second wind, but to no avail. Tours ultimately cooled down the Giamarchi Arena for good, concluding the match with a score of 3-0 (18/25 23/25 27/29).
Nice volleyball falls to fifth place in the league standings, two points behind Rennes.
