Volleyball: a failure in Nantes which leaves hope for the Béziers Angels

Les Angels ont changé d’entraîneur mais gardent le moral. MAXPPP – Ludovic Failler

Les Biterroises ont perdu à Nantes (3-1) où elles ont montré qu’elles peuvent rivaliser avec ce qu’il se fait de mieux.

On Saturday, January 11, on the occasion of the sixteenth day of the championship, Béziers Volley lost in Nantes by a score of 3 sets to 1 (25-14, 20-25, 19-25, 17-25). A defeat for the first match of the year, which places the Biterroises in eighth place in the ranking.

However, everything had started well on the Loire-Atlantique court, as explained by the coach, Fabien Simondet, who officiated on the bench in place of Frédéric Havas: “We started the match very well, even super well, assures the coach.We put Nantes under pressure. We were aggressive and we won the first set quite easily.”

“We made too many mistakes at the end of the set”

The second set could have been the turning point of the game. “We started well, we led by four or five points, everything we had put in place worked, confirms Fabien Simondet. But we made too many mistakes at the end of the set, and I think we put the Neptunes (the nickname of the Nantaises, Editor's note) back in the match,” laments the coach.

A finding all the more bitter in the face of a formidable team: “They are one of the best, if not the best team in the championship, regrets the coach. We should not have given them so much confidence.”

“The Nantaises more aggressive”

The Nantaises, liberated, gradually took the upper hand : “They became more aggressive in service, and we were lacking in reception. We were a bit scattered, we wanted to do too well, and unfortunately, we made a lot of mistakes,” analyzes the coach.
Despite the defeat, Fabien Simondet remains optimistic: “It wasn't an easy trip. We're now going to focus on the Coupe de France match, Tuesday January 14, at home, against Venelles, then on a more favorable schedule for the end of the championship.”