Nice-Volley hosted Saint-Brieuc at their Palmeira venue for the 23rd day of Ligue B. The Aiglons didn’t falter against the second-to-last team in the Championship but had to fight hard to secure this victory. The Aiglons secured their second consecutive win.
After their impressive victory against Martigues in 5 sets, Mladen Kasic’s men could solidify it last night against Saint-Brieuc, 13th and second-to-last in Ligue B. The team from Nice achieved this, but it was not without difficulty. Final score: 3 sets to 0 (25-22 / 29-27 / 32-30)
Teammates of Cristian Bartha started the match well. The repeated attacks from Eldin Demirovic, Ciprian Mattei, and Matija Sabljak hit their mark. The team from Nice won the first set, 25 to 22. But the Briochins didn’t relent. Worse, they pushed the team from Nice to their limits. The other two sets weren’t so easy to win. The third and final set of the match was won at the very last, 32 to 30.
Understandably, the Briochins had something to play for in this match while the Aiglons had no such pretenses. The Bretons managed to raise their level of play but without success. The team from Nice responded well in a match that wasn’t necessarily easy to play. Free from any pressure, that of Saint-Brieuc quickly rebounded onto Mladen Kasic’s protégés.
But the essential is there. The Niçois secure a second consecutive victory and keep their 8th place in the Ligue B standings with 35 points. It’s thought that this series of three consecutive defeats against Canteleu, Le Plessis-Robinson, and Cambrai could have changed a lot in the race for the play-offs. With this defeat, Saint-Brieuc nearly has both feet in National 1 (N1) and is 4 points behind the first non-relegated team, Alès, who hosts Harnes tonight. A success for Alès and the Bretons could say goodbye to Ligue B.
Teammates of Dusan Pribanovic and Julien Schroeder will travel next week to Nancy, 11th in Ligue B, to make it three in a row.
