Marmara SpikeLeague (8th day)
Tourcoing remains a solid and uncompromising leader. On a trip to Toulouse, the Northerners saw life in roses, with a seventh smooth victory (0-3). A very “moon” attack (57% success) and a Dutch central, Michael Parkinson, with his arms in the air (6 blocks), buried the desires of the gang in Patrick Duflos.
In the wake of the TLM, Montpellier is recovering after its double fall over the past weekends. Against Sète, the Héraultais did not flinch in reception (68% positive receptions) to easily win (3-0). Behind the leading duo, the light is azure and it shines with Nice! Twelfth in the previous year, finished with 18 points and only six wins, the Aiglons are soaring at the start of the season, already have 16 points and return from Saint-Nazaire with a benchmark success on the land of the reigning champion ( 1-3). Powered by the arm of the current best scorer in the League, Simon Hirsch (19.7 pts on average), Nice “made in Brice Donat” has character and responsiveness in the game, like its Greek receiver, Alexandro Raptis, author of a remarkable performance in Loire-Atlantique (18 pts including 2 aces and 1 block).
Tours does not experience the same dynamic, but at least the TVB has reaped a second success this season, to overtake its Saturday evening victim, Narbonne (3-0), with a sober but often fair Hermans Egleskalns (14 pts at 10/14 in attack). Poitiers also bounced back after its setback on the Promenade des Anglais last week. At Lawson-Body, the teammates of Earvin Ngapeth, preserved in this match, hit the mark (64% in attack) against Paris (3-1), notably Dusan Nikolic (23 pts at 69%) to settle in the fourth rank of the ranking. Finally, Chaumont and Jacob Pasteur (22 pts at 20/26 in attack) sank Le Plessis Robinson for the eighth time this season (1-3).
Saforelle Power 6 (8th day)
The carriages hit the road this weekend. Nantes, Mulhouse, Levallois Paris and Vandoeuvre Nancy, the leading quartet for the 2023-2024 regular season, have established themselves and are already in the top places. For the Neptunes, it's even an eighth success in as many matches in SP 6. It was in Béziers, this time, that César Hernandez's daughters said mass (1-3). Haylie Bennett is in great form currently (24 pts including 2 aces and 2 blocks) and the Nantes service did poorly, with 8 aces including 4 for setter Ella Powell, with no qualms for her former team.
Mulhouse follows the rhythm after its success in Gironde at the expense of Bordeaux Mérignac (1-3), with the card of the evening for Valentina Diouf (31 pts at 60% in attack), further striking proof of the great offensive variety available to François Salvagni this season. The Mariannes of Levallois-Paris won by the same score in front of the Pays d'Aix Venelles (3-1), with a diligent match (only 13 direct errors against 32 for the Provençales).
Vandoeuvre Nancy, who had not won at home for almost a month, returned to home success, mastering Voléro Le Cannet in three short sets (3-0). A double champion of France 2022 and 2023 who remained on two consecutive successes, but who nevertheless did not manage to completely get out of the rut (3-0). Behind, Terville Florange is smiling again after the last four more delicate days. Victorious over RC Cannes (3-0), under the omnipresence of Tatiana Kulikova (13 pts including 5 blocks), the Mosellanes balance the scores.
Finally, despite two sets behind and seven points outlay at the start of money time in the third, Chamalières fought and ended up overthrowing Marcq-en-Barœul (3-2), with a big load-bearing wall ( 10 blocks), while Quimper disposed of France Avenir 2024 (0-3) in the footsteps of its sharp Finn, Yasmine Madsen (14 pts including 2 blocks).
LBM (5th day)
It continues to smile for Ajaccio, which is not slowing down at the start of the season. Traveling to Cambrai, the “Gaz” compiled a fifth success to remain the only undefeated team in the division (1-3). In support of the pyrotechnician Daniel Bala (17 pts), Matej Patek still has good leftovers at 34 years old (16 pts at 58% in attack).
Behind, we hang on and we win. In the flagship match of this 5th LBM day, Fréjus came out on top, 18-16 in the tie-break, against Martigues (3-2), thanks in particular to the princely match of Tobias Kjaer, its receiver-attacker Danish (23 pts including 2 aces and 2 blocks). Saint-Jean-d'Illac tames Nancy (3-1), with a backfiring service (9 blocks including 5 for Malick Frederic) and a Tunisian receiver, Oussama Ben Romdhane on fire (25 pts).
Despite twelve cumulative counterattacks and a fight lasting more than two hours, the Pirates of Royan surrendered against Reims (2-3) and its attack commander, Boudjemaa Ikken (32 pts including 2 aces and 4 counters). Finally, France Avenir 2024 and its Franco-Serbian receiver-attacker, Andrej Jokanovic (22 pts) scored their first point of the season, pushing Saint-Quentin and a very tall Cyril Larrieu (32 pts at 67% in attack) to the deciding set (2-3).
