For this Coupe de France match, the NVB traveled to the field of Plessis-Robinson. A game largely dominated by Brice Donat’s men, who were in much better shape.
The Nice Volley Ball was eager to follow up after its impressive victory achieved mid-last week on the field of Paris Volley. For their entry into the competition in the round of 16, the Eagles were again in the Paris region, in the Hauts-de-Seine, to challenge Plessis-Robinson. A team that has had a good start to the season, notably with a victory in Nice at the end of October. It was time for revenge for the Maralpins, led by the tireless Nice captain, Rodney Ah-Kong, who was in the starting lineup this evening.
The Niçois came out very aggressive at the start of the match. Shay Liberman was noticeable in attack, applying pressure with his serves in a not very fast-paced game. Merrick Mchenry demonstrated his height (2m01) following the good receptions from Colin Castelnau. The Eagles strung together strong phases of play to take a lead in the first set (13-18). Solid in attack, the Niçois maintained their advantage and took the lead in this match (19-25).
Nice dominates effortlessly
Confidently, the visitors continued their momentum at the start of the second set. NVB quickly took a six-point lead, forcing the PRVB coach to call a timeout to refocus his team. And it worked: the locals closed the gap to one point by capitalizing on Nice’s service errors. With less precision in serving, the opponent’s receptions were smoother and provided opportunities for Plessis’s spikers. However, with determination, the Azuréens regained their vigor. On the other side, Plessis, who played the previous weekend, struggled to maintain consistency and faltered despite significant player rotation. The Eagles, without dominating, managed to break away and lead two sets to zero (20-25).
Clearly lacking rhythm, the locals couldn’t find a breakthrough. The Nice block, slightly less effective than last week, still did the job and rapidly created a +4 gap. Even though not everything was perfect, the Eagles were never threatened and did not need to overexert themselves. Dawid Dulski and his teammates did what was needed and thwarted any comeback attempts from the Parisians, despite some direct errors in the middle of the third set.
Never troubled in this match, the Nice Volley Ball team won in three straight sets (25-19/25-20/25-20) in a very low-key atmosphere. We will see the Eagles again this Thursday for the derby against Cannes at Palmeira. In the quarter-finals, the Niçois will face the winner of the match taking place tomorrow between Ajaccio and Chaumont.
