A few weeks before the playoffs, Nice welcomed the Ligue A leader and European Championship finalist: Tours, to their Palmeira stadium yesterday.
Nice Volley-Ball knew they were facing a titan on Tuesday evening at 8 PM, as many predicted an easy win for the Tours leader.
But the players from Nice rose to the occasion, and the showdown was immediate in this match. In the first set, both teams barely managed to create a gap larger than two points, with their opponents always managing to level the score. Nice had led for most of this first act, but Tours eventually pulled ahead to win the first set with a score of 29-31.
The second set began with a nearly identical scenario, as both teams stayed close to each other in scoring. But between points 10 and 20, Tours clearly gained the advantage and went on to win the second set 23-25.
Even though they deserved to win the first two sets, the Nice players gave everything for the third and won it convincingly. Propelled by Giraudo’s smashes and Lima’s serves, the Eagles managed to achieve a comfortable lead with an 8-point advantage. They took the third set 25-17.
Shaken, the Tours team immediately showed they were in charge by dominating the fourth set. From the start, they gained a 6-point lead over Nice (3-9), then 9 points (6-15), and finally won the match with a score of 15-25.
Kevin Tillie, Olympic champion with the French team this summer in Tokyo, was named man of the match.
