Jostled by Poland for its first match in the League of Nations (3-1 defeat), the French volleyball team, outgoing winner, set the record straight this Friday morning. In Nagoya, Japan, Andrea Giani’s men first tied the game with the Chinese, before gaining momentum and dominating largely in the last two sets to offer a 3-1 victory against 26th world nation (25-20, 23-25, 25-16, 25-17).
With a revamped team, deprived of Earvin Ngapeth and its captain, Benjamin Toniutti, the reigning Olympic champions have been able to bring out other forces. Timothée Carle, the receiver-attacker who has just extended his contract in Berlin, had a good game (14 points, two blocks, two winning services), as did Kévin Tillie (16 points). This victory puts France in 8th place in the ranking out of 16 nations. After two games, only the United States, Poland and Brazil are clear.
To conclude this phase of the League of Nations in Nagoya, the tricolors will face Slovenia on Saturday (5:40 a.m.) then Japan on Sunday (12:10 p.m.). Their summer will be intense since weeks 2 and 3 of the League of Nations (June 21-25 in Orléans and July 4-10 in Anaheim, in the United States) as well as the Euro (August 28-September 16) will be present to them.
