France delivered one of the biggest surprises so far in the third week of the Women's Volleyball Nations League. The Frenchwomen recorded only their second victory in the tournament after making an impressive comeback from 0:2 to 3:2 (20:25, 22:25, 25:22, 25:23, 15:13) against hosts Serbia in Belgrade.
The success directly impacts the battle for survival. France now has the same number of wins as Bulgaria – two, but collected one more point and displaced our national team from the safe position. Thus, before tomorrow's match against the Czech Republic, the Bulgarians are now in the penultimate 17th place in the VNL provisional standings.
This means that the direct clash between Bulgaria and France on the penultimate day of the tournament could become decisive for who will retain their place in the elite of world women's volleyball.
The match started excellently for the Serbians, who controlled the first two sets and seemed close to victory. However, France gradually raised its level in attack and serve, equalized the score, and in the tie-break showed more composure in crucial moments.
Statistics show how evenly matched the game was. France finished with an advantage in attack (59:53) and aces (6:5), while blocks were completely even – 14:14. The decisive factor turned out to be the difference in unforced errors, where Serbia gifted a total of 36 points to their opponent compared to 29 for France.
The Frenchwomen also had a minimal advantage in digs (99:97), reception (96:95), and sets (169:165), further highlighting how small the differences between the two teams were.
Ratahiri was the top scorer for France with 24 points, while Ndiaye added 23. For Serbia, Titica scored 16 points, and Kirov finished with 15.
The defeat continued the Serbians' nightmare streak in tie-breaks. According to Serbian media, this is already the team's 13th consecutive loss in a five-set match. Serbia last won a tie-break on July 2, 2023, specifically against Bulgaria, and has consistently lost all matches that have gone to a decisive fifth set since then.
photo:volleyballworld.com
