The Italian volleyball players suffered their first loss in this year's edition of the Volleyball Nations League. In a match from Group 1, played in Quebec City (Centre Videotron), the "Azzurri" lost 1:3 (17-25, 22-25, 25-19, 24-26) to Olympic champions France, who played a more stable and concentrated match in the decisive moments.
The team, led by Andrea Giani, recorded their first success in the tournament, while Ferdinando De Giorgi's boys broke their streak of two consecutive victories against Bulgaria and Germany. The most points in the match were scored by Luca Porro with 18 points, followed by Alessandro Romano with 17.
Match flow:
First set (25-18):
The match started evenly, but with a powerful series of blocks from Geye and aces from Eno, France quickly took the lead. Italy tried to come back with an ace from Sani, but the "Roosters'" run continued. Cleveno made it 23-17, and the set ended at 25-18 with France dominating in all indicators – 4-1 blocks and 15-10 successful attacks.
Second set (25-22):
Rychlicki started the set but was quickly replaced by Romano. At 14-13, Eno was injured after serving and was replaced by Duflo Rossi. Nevertheless, France maintained the pace and with two consecutive blocks at the end against Gargiulo and a service error from Sani, closed the set at 25-22.
Third set (19-25):
Italy showed character, led by strong play from Romano (7 points in the set) and a stable performance from middle blocker Gargiulo. A series of serves from Romano gave a comfortable lead, and an ace from Porro and a point from Romano fixed 25-19 – Italy's strongest set.
Fourth set (26-24):
Italy again pulled ahead by 5 points (10-15), but France came back into the match through Patry and Geye. Ultimately, after 24-24, an ace from Tizi-Oualou against Porro brought success to the "Roosters" with 26-24 and 3:1 in the match.
Statistics:
Attacks:France – 52, Italy – 51
Blocks:France – 10, Italy – 6
Aces:France – 7, Italy – 6
Service errors:France – 14, Italy – 15
Points from opponent's errors:Italy - 25, France - 22
FRANCE - ITALY 3:1 (25-18, 25-22, 19-25, 26-24)
FRANCE:
Gaye 10, Faure 13, Clevenot 12, Houez 12, Thizi-Oualou 5, Henno 9, Diez (libero), Chaboisson, Duflo Rossi 1, Potron 5, Ferreol 2.
Did not play: Strehlau, Magnan, Ramon.
Coach: Andrea Giani
ITALY:
Gargiulo 7, Giannelli 2, Porro 18, Anzani 4, Romano 17, Sani 16, Laurenzano (libero), Rychlicki 1, Boninfante, Bottolo.
Did not play: Recine, Cortesia, Sanguinetti, Pace.
Coach: Ferdinando De Giorgi
photo:volleyballworld.com
