It was not entirely a surprise, but it was only anticipated in the most optimistic forecasts.
Nice responded appropriately, with a hard-fought but well-deserved victory, to the doubts raised by last week’s home defeat against Ajaccio, by going to Montpellier and winning against the top-ranked team.
The Languedoc team had just come from a narrow defeat against Chaumont and was eager to get back on the winning track.
This was without accounting for the value of Mladen Kasic’s players, who managed to respond to each lost set (10-25 the first and 22-25 the third) by winning the next one (25-20 the second and 25-22 the fourth). They eventually won the match in the tie-break: 15-12.
It was an exceptional evening for Vasyl Tupchii, with 27 points, and Alex Bartos, with 18, who managed to counter Patry’s performance (21 points) for the Montpellier team.
In terms of statistics: 51% in attack and 45% in reception, 2 aces, 10 blocks, and 15 service errors.
