Montpellier defeated Cannes in a five-set thriller and qualified for the semi-finals in France
The Montpellier volleyball team (MHSC VB) achieved a difficult but extremely important away victory against AS Cannes with a 3:2 game score in the fourth match of the quarter-final series of the French Men's League A. The success at the "Palais des Victoires" hall in Cannes secured Montpellier a place in the semi-finals of the championship.
Despite the atmosphere created by the fans with choreography and songs, the hall was half-empty for this clash. The match was filled with tension from the very beginning, with the visitors' middle blocker Rafael Pascal (who started in place of Joris Seddik) clashing with Cannes' setter Axel Jacobsen in the very first minutes.
The hosts from Cannes showed a completely different face compared to the previous match and won the first set 25:21. The tension continued in the second part, with players often engaging in verbal altercations. Montpellier's coach, Loïc Le Marec, was looking for solutions, and his team managed to raise their level and equalize the sets after 25:22, with the last point scored by Pascal after an interesting foot combination by opposite Dimitar Dimitrov and an attack by setter Rafael Corre.
Cannes, however, did not give up and once again took the lead, winning the third set 25:21, despite the efforts of Montpellier's players, including an attractive foot defense by Thomas Lopez.
In the fourth set, the visitors reacted quickly. The entry of Finnish opposite Veikka Lindqvist refreshed Montpellier's game, who also benefited from a drop in Cannes' performance to win convincingly 25:18 and send the match to a tie-break.
The decisive fifth set was a real battle until 10:10. After two extremely contested points at the end, Montpellier managed to prevail 15:12, ending the season for Cannes.
Palacios was the top scorer for Montpellier with 20 points, followed by Lopez with 15.The Bulgarian international Dimitar Dimitrov, who played as a starting opposite in the first three sets, contributed 12 points to the victory with 44% attack efficiency.Important contributions were also made by Rafael Pascal (11 pts), Nicolas Le Goff (10 pts), and substitute Veikka Lindqvist, who also scored 10 points. For Cannes, Haikal was the top scorer with 22 points.
Venue:"Palais des Victoires", Cannes
Score:Cannes 2 – 3 Montpellier
Sets:25-21 (31'), 22-25 (35'), 25-21 (35'), 18-25 (28'), 12-15 (21')
For MHSC VB, a semi-final series (best of three matches) against Tours VB awaits, starting on April 25th.
