France: history done – Saint Nazaire Champions of France 2024! Defending champions Tours defeated at Golden Set!
2 min read
Saint Nazaire: a little town with just under 70 thousand inhabitants on the shores of the Atlantic, at the mouth of the Loire river, close to Nantes.
And now it is important to get to know it, because its team has rewritten the geography of volleyball in France, winning its first championship in 52 years of history, spent almost entirely in the lower divisions.
And they did it in the most spectacular way possible, starting from seventh place in regular season and first beating his cousins Nantes RezĂŠ (seconds and winners Coupe de France) in the quarter-finals, then Tourcoing (who finished third place) in the semi-final and, finally, Tours VB reigning champions.
The latter was defeated after the decisive Golden Set (12-15) after overturning the defeat of the first leg by winning 3-2 (21:25, 25:18, 29:27, 21:25, 17:15), with a match point canceled out at Saint-Nazaire at 13-14 in the tie break.
It is also a personal triumph for the Brazilian coach Rubinho, who next year will leave the bench to the Italian Fulvio Bertini, but also for players little known internationally, with the exception of the US national team players Kyle Ensing (13 points in decisive game) and Jordan Ewert (top scorer among his teammates today with 19 points to his name including 2 aces and 1 block), the Canadian middle blocker Jordan Schnitzer (there is rumor about a possible future in italian Superlega club Milano, 15 points today with 3 winning blocks and 2 aces), his fellow Cape Verdean Helder Spencer, great protagonist of the playoffs, and the outside hitter Titouan HallĂŠ.
Then there is the libero and captain Ludovic DuĂŠe, who has an incredible story to tell: at the end of the season he will retire to enter a convent, in the abbey of the canons of Lagrasse!
Four Tours, 28 points from top scorer Aboubacar Drame Neto were not enough.
Congratulations to the winners!
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đ| 2023/24 MARMARA SPIKE LEAGUE | FINAL
GAME 1
Wednesday April 24, 2024
⢠20.00 (Local Time) | Saint Nazaire – Tours 3-1 (25:17, 21:25, 25:17, 25:17) Series: 1-0
GAME 2
đđźSunday April 28, 2024
⢠19.00 (Local Time) | Tours – Saint Nazaire 3-2 (21:25, 25:18, 29:27, 21:25, 17:15) GOLDEN SET: 12-15
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