#France: Tours in Final, Ajaccio and Chaumont to Game 3!

2 min read

Tours is the first finalist! The reigning champions (as well as the winners of Coupe de France) take the first ticket to the finals literally destroying Nice in straight sets, while Ajaccio and Chaumont postponed everything to Game 3.
In details, after a decidedly opaque game played at Chaumont in Game 1 (do you remember? Prandi’s team won 3:0), Ajaccio tonight, on the home court, started playing again, and despite the (not very dangerous) tension drop in the third set, they managed to win in four sets, playing a really convincing game.
Superb performance by the home Libero Exiga, who finished the match with 89% perfect reception, while Carle was the best scorer of the game with 22 points, including 4 aces and a winning-block. Pepic also contributed with 18 points, 3 aces and 63% in attack, while Ajaccio’s captain Dailey scored 6 winning blocks! Winkelmuller scored 15 on the other side, but Chaumont really paid a bad day in reception. Many mistakes, and therefore nothing done.
Few problems also for Tours: despite a first set, in which Nice started really strong with 4 consecutive Aces of Overbeeke, the reigning champions are too strong.
They managed to recover immediately, up to 8-8, and to win a first set, which was the hardest fought set. From the second set onwards, only Tours is on the field, which has literally destroyed his rivals, despite a Game 1 played in Nice at very high levels (although, in the end, with a great comeback, still won Tours, proving themselves really much stronger).
Despite the middle-blockers are not very effective in this match (Chinenyeze 3 points in total, 33% in attack and one winning-block, Teryomenko 4 points, 67% in attack and no blocks), Wounembaina, Egleskalns and Husaj lead their team to victory, scoring respectively 14, 12 and 11 points. Too many errors instead for Nice, especially in reception but also in attack. Overbeeke was the best scorer with 15 points and 50% in attack, and Tours is therefore, deservedly, the first finalist. (PHOTOGALLERY OF THE MATCH AVAIBLE) This was also the last match of Mladen Kašić as a Nice’s head coach. The Croatian expert was at the helm of Nice for 19 years. Next season, he will coach Sète.