After their three inaugural defeats, the Centurions host Toulouse at the Arena this Saturday (8 p.m.). A meeting which should determine the rest of the Aude season. If they win, the Narbonnais will be able to entertain the hope of securing a Top 8, if they lose they will know that the mission will be a challenge.
Toulouse is not America, but it is still Toulouse. A team with a higher performance index than Narbonne, but a team which should still struggle in the same waters as the Centurions Narbonne this season. Cold waters not always very safe, far from the seafront, but never beyond the buoys.
Toulouse at the Arena. Toulouse in the temple of dreams, the great theater of pleasures. It’s a derby, so always motivating and exciting. “It’s an important match. Because we can consider that Toulouse is a direct opponent. And yes, in addition, it is indeed a derby, so for us, it is doubly important”, concedes Narbonne coach Rafael Redwitz.
Doubling, tripling, quadrupling. Because in three matches – in Poitiers (3-1), against Cannes (1-3), in Tourcoing (3-0) – the Centurions have yet to secure any victory, have taken no points and have not won only two sets. Three games with zero points. Unlike Toulouse which in two matches (last week, the Spacer’s were exempt), garnered two points, the two points from the victory against Tours, in five sets, at home on October 5, knowing that during the first day of SpikeLigue, the Haut-Garonnais had lost 3 sets to 1 in Nice.
We’re talking about a Volleyball match, not a 100 meter dash
“On paper, Toulouse is certainly better. However, we are talking about volleyball here. And what makes volleyball beautiful is precisely that we can beat Toulouse because it is not a 100 meter race, It’s not a fifty-meter swim, it’s a volleyball match, it’s their attack against our reception, our block. In this game, we can win. analyzes a Redwitz who is still very sunny, still as determined.
We would really like to tell him that it is about time. And Toulouse’s reception at the Arena looks like the perfect opportunity to finally win a match. “We have assets to thwart these Toulouse residents. For example, we are more physical.” The characteristics of these Toulouse residents? “They are very technical and go very quickly,” replies Rafael Redwitz.
Among Narbonne’s assets, the new sharp Casey Schouten (right-handed, 30 years old, 1 m 98, 95 kg). The Canadian gunner will bring power to the Narbonne attack. Power, speed. And aggression. And the mind. Mentality, Narbonne urgently needs it. If the Centurions have not yet taken a single point in the championship, it is because they often collapsed at the end of the set. Collapsed in the heads.
We have problems at the end of the set
“Casey is really an attacker. I hope he becomes our play leader, our points leader, he’s a player who finds good angles, who has a quick arm. He has a lot of power and is a excellent server”, explains the Franco-Brazilian technician. “We are really capable of competing with all the teams. However, our problem is the decisive moments, the end of the set. Also, we still concede too many series of points. In Tourcoing, at a given moment, we are at 14-14 then we take eight points in a row. Here too, the problem is mental. continues Rafael Redwitz.
Whether the problem is physical or mental, it is up to the Narbonne coach to find the solution. This Saturday at around 11 p.m., the Centurions Narbonne will in any case know in which court they will play this season. And everything will become clear. Clearer. Is it clear?
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