Iliya Petkov's Toulouse lost their last regular season match in SpikeLigue (1:3) against Paris Volley.

National team player Iliya Petkov finished the match with 7 points (1 ace) and an impressive 86% attack efficiency.In the next stage, he and his teammates will have to face the team of Bulgaria's former coach Silvano Prandi – Chaumont.

Disappointing loss to Paris

Sixth at the start of this final day of the regular season, the Toulousains dropped one place in the standings after their defeat to Paris. Against a team that had nothing to play for, Patrick Duflot's boys probably put in their worst home performance of the season. It was a night when the Palais des Sports was almost full, but the fans couldn't see the best of their team.

While riding the momentum of seven consecutive home victories, the Toulousains fell for the first time since November 23, when they lost to Sète (2:3). The main consequence of this unexpected loss? Instead of facing Tourcoing, Facundo Santucci's teammates will have to face Chaumont, second in the regular season and equipped with a top-level squad. "This is a very strong team, everyone knows it, but we are not afraid of anyone and we will play our chance boldly," announced Tom Picard immediately after the revelation of the next opponent.

Exhaustion after Dubai

For the upcoming important battle, the Toulousains must be in better physical condition. Although they don't use it as an excuse, it's impossible not to mention that the team landed on Friday evening at 8:00 PM from Dubai, where they participated in an international tournament promoting the "Spacer's" brand. Obviously, the trip took its toll, because against Paris the entire squad looked exhausted, which led to two uninspired last sets (18-25, 17-25).

Paris Volley will be reinforced from next season with Vasily Molotkov, who is currently part of Montana.

Quarter-final schedule:

Chaumont – Toulouse (match 1, April 4) Chaumont – Toulouse (match 2, April 6) Toulouse – Chaumont (match 3, April 12) Toulouse – Chaumont (potential match 4, April 14) Chaumont – Toulouse (potential match 5, April 18)

TOULOUSE 1 – PARIS Volley 3 (22:25, 25:17, 18:25, 17:25)

(22-25 in 23 minutes, 25-17 in 26 minutes, 18-25 in 28 minutes, 17-25 in 29 minutes)

Spectators: 3300

TOULOUSE:

• 34 attacks (Picard 13), 30 errors (incl. 16 on serve), 4 aces (Duflot-Rossi 2), 6 blocks (Michel 2).

• Starting lineup: T. Gilles (2), Ferral (4), Picard (13), Duflot-Rossi (14), Nack-Minyem (1), Petkov (7) replaced by Piazetta (1), Duthoit (1), Hervoir (4);

• Libero: F. Santucci (captain).

• Coach: Patrick Duflot.

PARIS:

• 51 attacks (Takahashi 17), 33 errors (incl. 19 service errors), 5 aces (Prevert 2), 6 blocks (Prevert 2).

• Starting line-up: Chaboissan (captain), Bratschko (16), Prevert (8), Barrios (10), Takahashi (17), Vetters (10) then Leclerc (1), Diouf;

• Libero: Mouiel.

• Coach: Nikola Matijasevic.