Eagles supporters experienced a rollercoaster of emotions tonight at the Giamarchi Palmeira hall. Dominant then dominated, NVB managed to emerge victorious from their match against Saint-Nazaire.
On a great run since the beginning of the year, the NVB volleyball players had a scare at home against Saint-Nazaire. Although the Ligériens are not among the top clubs this season (11th), they remain a tough team to negotiate for the Eagles. This is evidenced by their confrontation record. Since 2011, the Nice team has won only twice with eight losses. While the last match between the two teams ended well for the Maralpins, Brice Donat’s players were coming off a home loss against Montpellier.
It was a time for focus to avoid the trap set by the defending champions. The beginning of the match was solid for the Nice team. Both teams played without making errors. Nice managed to take the lead in the first third of the first set. Nooa Marttila stood out with several positive phases that allowed Nice to gradually pull ahead in the score. Thanks to a solid first set, the Eagles took the lead in this match (25-20).
Still as precise at the start of the second set, the Nice team gave away nothing. Facing them, Saint-Nazaire made some mistakes and quickly left Nice at +4. A lead the Azuréens we able to manage collectively. However, the visitors seemed capable of getting back into the game when they managed to execute their plays flawlessly. After closing the gap, they eventually messed up and lost the second set to Nice (25-22).
Avoid Falling into Old Habits
In the past, Nice has often been caught up in tight matches. Against a team still competing in the Champions League, nothing is ever won in advance. Contrary to the first two sets, the third started with a series of inaccuracies. SNVBA took advantage of this to pull ahead using their experience. The visitors regained control of the game and shifted the momentum. The Eagles, however, managed to close a 5-point gap before falling short by two points. Third set for Saint-Nazaire (25-27).
A cruel scenario as the match could have been wrapped up quickly. However, the Nice machine, so perfect at the start of the match, started to falter. A difficult start to the set allowed SNVBA to lead in the fourth act. Nice made too many service errors to hope to get back into the match. The visitors tied the set count at two each (22-25).
On their momentum, the Ligériens were solid in attack. Nice experienced a lapse by falling behind by three points. Time-outs followed in succession towards the end of the match. After two time-outs requested by Brice Donat, the Eagles managed to shake their evening opponents. They came back to tie at 11 before taking the lead. In contrast, Saint-Nazaire fell back into their earlier mistakes and lost everything. Nice finally won (25-20/25-22/25-27/22-25/15-13). A mentally tough victory that will boost the morale of the NVB players.
Next match for Nice, next Saturday on the field against Paris. Kick-off at 6 PM.
