Nice Volley hosted Lyon on Friday night for the 16th round of Ligue B. A match announced to be difficult for Mladen Kasic’s men, but the people of Nice pulled off a pleasant surprise by defeating the second in the Championship 3 sets to 1 (25-14 / 18-25 / 25-24 / 25-17).
The people of Nice took control of the match right from the start. One might have expected the Lyon team to press hard, but that was far from the case. After a close start, they were quickly overwhelmed by the repeated attacks of Eldin Demirovic and three consecutive blocks by Dusan Pribanovic. The Rhône team made unusual mistakes. The team from the Côte d’Azur soared ahead and could not be caught in this first set, won 25-14. Fabrice Chalendar’s outburst: “Guys, play volleyball!”
But ASUL isn’t 2nd in the Championship for nothing, and the former Ligue A team sets things straight. With Srdjan Ristic in peak form, Lyon quickly took the lead in the second set. Quickly trailing 14-9, then 17-11, the people of Nice couldn’t recover and lost the set 25 to 18. It’s tied, back to the center. And what about the 3rd set. No one could take a decisive advantage. The Lyon team caught up to 24-23, but Alexandar Milivojevic sealed the fate of the set. Nice regained a one-set lead. But it needed to be confirmed.
And for that, count on Ciprian Matei, who was simply outstanding. The Romanian, who joined this year, left his mark on the final set. Of course, aided by a well-oiled team, he troubled Lyon’s defense, unable to counter the smashes from the former member of Municipal Piatra Neamt. The Nice Volley quickly led by 5 points (9-5) before rolling on to calmly win the set and the match (25-17). It’s done, Salle Palmeira can rejoice, the team from Nice holds their reference match of this early 2013. Mladen Kasic can be proud of his players.
After a difficult start in January with two home losses against Harnes 3-1 and Saint-Nazaire with the same score, Ciprian Matei’s teammates achieved two consecutive victories, after the one in Alès (3-2), and can dream again of the playoffs for promotion to Ligue A, after having left it two years ago. But that necessarily involves a victory next Saturday on the court of the league’s bottom team, Calais.
