Volleyball: Nice cracks under the suspense in Tourcoing

For this third day of Ligue A Alterna Volstar, the Nice Eagles were away in Tourcoing. A match that turned in favor of the home side in the 4th set.

In a well-filled Léo-Lagrange sports complex, TLM hosted the Eagles this afternoon. Two teams with a home victory and an away defeat each at the start of the championship. While momentum was in favor of Nice Volley-Ball players, Brice Donat’s men needed to reassure themselves away from home against a team accustomed to playing leading roles in Ligue A AlternaVolstar. To do this, the Maralpin coach trusted Kévin Kobrine, Masson Briggs, Fausto Diaz, Haukea Mare, Tymofii Poluian and Lohan Nack-Minyem.

As against Tours at the start of the championship, the Nice players quickly fell behind early in the match due to a lack of success on service. As the minutes went by, the Nice players managed to close the gap thanks to a beautiful block rotation. Both teams were composed and Kévin Kobrine managed to put his side ahead for the first time in the match after three fine sequences. Well positioned defensively, Nice managed to escape in the money-time thanks to their best scorer since the start of the season, Fausto Diaz (5/5 in attack). All accompanied by the experience of the tireless Rodney Ah-Kong who came to bring all his game knowledge to take the first set 25-21.

The start of the match was ideal for the Nice players who continued thanks to their American attacker who hits hard in attack. However, they were still giving away too many points on service which allowed Tourcoing to take the lead early in the second set. A weakness well compensated by fine block solidity to stay within range. But pushed by their crowd, the home side combined well in the middle of the set while taking advantage of Nice’s net errors to give themselves some room. As in the first act, points accumulated and Nice took the opportunity to make up ground by relying on the power of Kévin Kobrine.

The second set was once again decided in the final moments. The Eagles came back into the lead at the best possible moment thanks to a fine serving sequence from their receiving attacker Fausto Diaz. Having great difficulty in reception, Tourcoing also dropped the second set 20-25. On the other side, Nice already secured a point in this away trip that could have seemed risky at first.

Nice Volley-Ball lets Tourcoing come back

With their backs to the wall, Tourcoing tried to make their opponents of the day play. The Maralpins, led by good reception from Mason Briggs from the start of the match and sharp attacks from Fausto Diaz and Kévin Kobrine, gave nothing, determined to leave no hope for the home side who were increasingly doubtful.

Once again ahead in the set, the home side this time managed to keep the Nice players behind thanks to fine quality of service and good work from Venislav Antov. On the other side Brice Donat decided to rotate to let his leaders rest. Result, Tourcoing came back at two sets to one, 25-18.

The Léo-Lagrange sports complex woke up like its team. The Azure players returned with their starting six for this beginning of the 4th set. A choice that paid off as Kévin Kobrine, who was struggling in the third set, perfectly launched the yellows by inflicting a 5-0 from the start. More enterprising, the Eagles who had quieted the room found themselves having some scares over misunderstandings in reception. Nothing to worry their American attacker who regularly put order in the Nice house. Opposite, Oussama Ben Romdhane instigated a comeback for TLM who ended up coming back level and even getting ahead in the middle of the set. An impressive comeback partly due to a big drop in level in reception. The tension rose between the two teams as did the intensity. At this game it was Tourcoing who made the good move on a set point verified several times. The home side, thanks to a very active Matías Giraudo, came back at two sets all 25-21.

Everything was decided in the decisive set which was very close. Stronger on service, Tourcoing ended up pulling away against Nice players who were less precise in attack. The home side finally managed to maintain their three-point lead to manage the end of the match and win in five sets: (21-25/20-25/25-18/25-21/15-12) in just under 2.5 hours of play.

The Nice players who seemed to have the match under control will have regrets after giving much in this match. Next appointment next Friday with hosting Sète at the Palmeira – Giamarchi hall. Kick-off at 7:30 p.m.