Montpellier atomizes Poitiers at Chaban-Delmas and passes in front of Ngapeth's team, second in Ligue A

Corre aux manettes a orchestré une soirée sans faute note pour le MHSC VB. Midi Libre – Michael Esdourrubailh

Ligue A Masculine/ 13e journée. Le MHSC VB a fait exploser Poitiers, 3/0, mardi soir dans une enceinte de Chaban-Delmas comble, avec un record d'affluence à 2612 spectateurs.

Tuesday night in Castelnau-le-Lez was special. First of all, thanks to the arrival of the greatest French volleyball player of all time, Earvin Ngapeth. The mere presence of the 33-year-old player filled the other half of a room that rarely exceeds 1,200 spectators.
When the announcer called him to enter the court, he received a superb ovation, a bit less bloody than his friend and teammate with the Blues Nicolas Le Goff. Ngapeth sent another shiver down the spine by hitting an ace on the first point of the match. And that's about all he offered to the Hérault public who were only asking to feast on the genius strokes of the extraterrestrial.
Not really in good form, he could do nothing against the apathy of his partners. In a first set where Montpellier crushed its opponent in rare proportions (25-12), the strong men were from Montpellier, their names were Dimitar Dimitrov, Tomas Lopez or Joris Seddik. If the scenario did not have the effect of igniting the hushed atmosphere of the Palais des Sports, it allowed MHSC VB to take the lead without having made too much effort.

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Montpellier takes back second place

It was necessary to wait for the equalization at 9-9 in the second set at the end of a rally concluded by Tomas Lopez for the volume to increase significantly. And if the debates seemed more balanced, it was a decoy. Bulgarian point guard Dimitar Dimitrov made the difference (18-15). At the end of the set, Ngapeth was blocked twice and Montpellier pulled away on the scoreboard (25-16).
While the spectators secretly hoped that the party would continue, MHSC VB kept the Poitevins' lead underwater in the third set (25-16). The visitors showed a very sad face while the Héraultais ensured the essential: a clear and flawless victory, without wasting energy battling against a direct competitor for a good place in the ranking.
By managing to silence the best player of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Loic Le Marrec's men achieved a rare performance that turned into a thrashing. And the cherry on the cake, MHSC VB took back second place in the ranking from under the noses of their opponent of the evening. If the Montpellier public will be able to say that they saw Ngapeth at work, it is not certain that they themselves will keep their evening in Montpellier in their memory for very long.

Technical sheet

Montpellier HSC VB defeats Poitiers 3/0.
In Castelnau-le-Lez, Palais des sports Chaban-Delmas. 2,612 spectators.
Set details: 25-12 in 19', 25-16 in 24'.25-16 in 24’.
Referees: MM. Galant, Collados.
MONTPELLIER: 58 points, 6 aces, 14 blocks, 59% reception, 38 winning attacks at 61% efficiency, 11 direct errors including 10 on serve.
Starting six: Corre (2), Seddik (6), Palacios (10), Le Goff (12), Lopez Pascual (10), Dimitrov (18). Then Spano.Libero: Phelut.
Entr. : Loic Le Marrec.
POITIERS: 32 points, 3 aces, 3 blocks, 27% receiving, 26 winning attacks at 36% efficiency, 15 unforced errors including 7 on serve.
Starting six: Walsh, Thoral (4), Magnin, Vucicevic (2), Howe (1), Ngapeth (12). Then Peter, Gill, Roatta (5), Byam (6), Pujol (2).
Libero: Massimino.
Enter. : Dan Lewis.

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