#RoadToTokyo: A magnificent France make an incredible comeback vs. Slovenia and go to finals!
2 min read
An Incredible France National Team came back from a 2-set deficit against Slovenia in the semifinals of the 2020 European Volleyball Olympic Qualifier in Berlin (Germany)!
The team coached by Laurent Tillie were on the edge of the abyss after being 2 sets down, but managed to turn the situation around and win the match the tie-break: 3-2 (13:25, 22:25, 25:14, 25:21, 15:9).
Slovenia dominated for 2 sets and even led by 4 points (7-3) in the 3rd set. In the tie-break, Antoine Brizard was fantastic, serving 3 consecutive aces at decisive moments. France outscored their opponents with 15:9 blocks and 12:4 aces!
Jean Patry was the top scorer for the winners with 22 points, while Toncek Stern scored in 20 points for Slovenia.
Reactions:
Laurent Tillie, Head Coach of France: āIncredible game. I think we are patient. Slovenia was playing so well, physically with a strong service, strong blocks, strong attack. They received very well too. So we had no solution, only just trying to stay on the court, just spending time waiting, waiting, waiting. And then the two entries like Louati and Brizard brought a lot of energy and changed the beat. And I think the situation changed and Slovenia had a lot to lose and we had nothing to lose.ā
Tine Urnaut, Captain of Slovenia: āWe were dominating the first two sets, we were dominating on the court and the third set we lost some opportunities for the defence, for counter-attack. We did not lose in the first two sets and France started to play much better. They were doing side-outs easy and they were serving really good. They played better in the last three sets.ā
2020 European Volleyball Olympic Qualifier, semifinals
January 9:
ā¢Slovenia – France 2-3 (25:13, 25:22, 14:25, 21:25, 9:15)
ā¢Bulgaria ā Germany 1-3 (20:25, 23:25, 25:20, 23:25) —PHOTOGALLERY—
Final -January 10:
France ā Germany, 20:10 CET
