For this fifth day of the championship this season, the Nice team hosted Toulouse this Saturday in the Palmeira hall behind closed doors. After five sets played, the Nice team finally succumbed 3-2 to the Toulousains who staged a comeback in the middle of the match. Another defeat and still no victories or points for Ratko Peris’s players.
Three matches and already three consecutive losses. Nice Volleyball still cannot find its footing, even at home. Against Toulouse, the Nice team wanted to make up for their poor start in the championship after two away defeats against Montpellier (3-1) and Tours (3-1). For their first home game, things went differently. They ultimately lost 3-2. A defeat that might have been avoided in the second set.
Nice determined in the first act
Even though the Nice team conceded the first points of the match, they managed to level with their Toulouse counterparts and even win the set (25-21). At that moment, one might think that the Nice team had found their rhythm and was going to deliver their game.
In the second set, the locals and the visitors neutralized each other. The score remained very tight throughout most of the set (12-12, 19-19). When Jérôme Clère’s men (Nice) were just one point away from the break (24-22), a slight lapse occurred within the team. The Toulousains came back to tie, 24-24. With small errors accumulating, Toulouse eventually won the set, 27-25. Everything needed to be redone for Nice.
The game takes a major turn
With one set won by each side, Nice was forced to start over. That’s what happened in the third period, where the Nice team struggled until the end. Spectators in the hall or watching from their screens witnessed a tense game where the two teams were neck and neck (20-20). Once again, Nice won the set after a video review (25-22). The Nice team was then just one set away from their first victory of the season.
Against all odds, the Toulousains staged a revolt. Taking advantage of the blue team’s passivity and exploiting the missed hits, the men in yellow began to take control of the game (7-13, 11-18, 16-24). With such aggressiveness and ferocity, the task became nearly unbearable for Nice. Toulouse won their second set of the night (25-19). Two sets each, the pressure increased on the shoulders of Captain Jérôme Clère’s teammates.
Everything was to be decided in this fifth set. Unfortunately, the Nice team did not last long during this period. Especially as the missed hits and inaccuracies piled up, and the Toulousains hit very hard. Overwhelmed by the game, the locals eventually conceded 15-7 and lost the match 3 sets to 2.
Another defeat for Nice Volleyball, which might harbor some regrets after an excellent start to the match. “We mishandle the balls, we did not exist in the last set, but we did not entirely fall apart. There are positives, particularly at the beginning of the match, but the negative once again is that we lost the match,” analyzed coach Ratko Peris.
After all, it is true that this defeat is, for now, the closest of the season. The coach of Toulouse, Stéphane Sapinart, said he is happy but also concerned about one of his players who was injured and had to be urgently transferred to the hospital.
