France: Tours to the top! And the others of Round 13

Round 13 of 2025/26 Marmara Spike League has been played entirely today.
Taking advantage from the tie break win of Tourcoing which, after winning first two sets without major problems on the field of Poitiers, then suffering the hosts’ comeback until the decisive tie break, won after a very balanced start, 2-3 (19:25, 21:25, 29:27, 25:23, 12:15), Tours fly to the top of the standings with 32 points after a clean 3-0 (25:22, 25:13, 25:12) home sweep over a bad Nice, who fought only at the very beginning of first and third set.
The winners overpowered Nice above
all in blocking, scoring as many as 16 points from this element in just three sets, 7 only from top scorer Nik Mujanovic (who left the court with 21 points to his name through 45% in attack and 1 ace too), and 4 from Leandro Santos, who also contributed with 15 including also 4 aces and 78% in attack (7/9 without blocked or errors).
Nice, on the other hand, suffered the bad day of all their spikers, with opposite Dawid Dulski the only one player in double digit with 12 points but with only 35% in attack, while outside hitters Ryley Barnes, Shay Mayo Liberman and Colin Castelnau scored 7 points in three.
Behind new leaders Tours, both at -1 with 31 points in the standings, Tourcoing (today led by Ignacio Luengas and Venislav Antov, who scored 24 and 23 points respectively in their team’s win on the field of Poitiers), and Montpellier, that needed four sets to win the derby against Sète after losing first set, 3-1 (23:25, 25:21, 25:15, 25:21). Four players left the court in double digit, with Vincent Mathias who led the charge with 20 points to his name though 56% in attack and 1 ace, closely followed by Ezequiel Palacios, who back to the court in style with 19 points, while Tomas Lopez Pascual and Quentin Jouffroy also contributed with 16 and 14, respectively (79% in attack and 3 blocks for the latter).
Plessis Robinson, their closest pursuers with 24 points won on the field of last-placed Saint Nazaire with the score of 0-3 (22:25, 16:25, 29:31), after a remarkable comeback from 16-12 in third set, rejecting the hosts’ attempt to reopen the game.
Also Toulouse and Narbonne collected straight sets victories.
The first one sweep newcomers Ajaccio in front of almost 2000 home fans, 3-0 (25:19, 25:19, 25:17), while Narbonne, who also won the game with the score of 3-0 (27:25, 25:20, 25:19), inflicted to Chaumont their 10th defeat in the competition, 11th including the one in CEV Challenge Cup in Greece, with 11 winning blocks, 20 points from an excellent Michael Czerwinski (68% in attack, 1 ace and 2 blocks), and 13 from Willner Rivas. Chaumont remain second-to-last in the standings with 12 points at +1 from Saint Nazaire, sharing the position together with Ajaccio.
After winning first two sets 25-18, Cannes suffered Paris’ comeback, with the visiting side who forced a tie break, that has been solved only
after 25 minutes of play in favor of the home side, 3-2 (25:18, 25:18, 18:25, 18:25, 22:20). Despite 16 winning blocks recorded by the team from country’s capital and 25 points from top scorer Vasily Molotkov, Cannes fought hard with 20 points from Joao Noleto and 19 from Xander Ketrzynski, collecting 2 very important points from the standings, sharing now 10th place with 15 points together with today’s rivals.
Ligue A will continue on Saturday, January 4, 2026, with six games of Round 14.

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🏐| MARMARA SPIKE LEAGUE 2025/26 | JOURNÉE 13 | Round 13

👉🏼Tuesday December 30, 2025
• 18.00 (Local Time) | Montpellier – Sète 3-1 (23:25, 25:21, 25:15, 25:21)
• 19.00 (Local Time) | Cannes – Paris 3-2 (25:18, 25:18, 18:25, 18:25, 22:20)
• 19.30 (Local Time) | Poitiers – Tourcoing 2-3 (19:25, 21:25, 29:27, 25:23, 12:15)
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Tours – Nice 3-0 (25:22, 25:13, 25:12)
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Toulouse – Ajaccio 3-0 (25:19, 25:19, 25:17)
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Narbonne – Chaumont 3-0 (27:25, 25:20, 25:19)
• 20.00 (Local Time) | St-Nazaire – Plessis-Robinson 0-3 (22:25, 16:25, 29:31)

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🏐| STANDINGS (updated on this day):
1. Tours 32
2. Tourcoing 31
3. Montpellier 31
4. Plessis Robinson 24
5. Poitiers 21
6. Sète 19
7. Toulouse 17
8. Nice 17
9. Narbonne 16
10. Cannes 15
11. Paris 15
12. Chaumont 12
13. Ajaccio 12
14. Saint Nazaire 11.

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🏐| NEXT GAMES | JOURNÉE 14 | Round 14

Saturday January 3, 2026
• 18.00 (Local Time) | Paris – Tours
• 19.00 (Local Time) | Plessis-Robinson – Poitiers
• 19.00 (Local Time) | Chaumont – St-Nazaire
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Tourcoing – Montpellier
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Narbonne – Sète
• 20.00 (Local Time) | Ajaccio – Cannes

Sunday January 4, 2026
• 16.30 (Local Time) | Nice – Toulouse

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