Bulgarian international Venislav Antov was once again among the leading scorers for Tourcoing, who achieved their fourth victory in the French championship. In a match from the fifth round, the hosts defeated Sète 3:0 (25:23, 25:23, 29:27), but the final score does not fully reflect the competitive nature of the match.
Antov finished with 17 points, 16 of which were from attack and one directly from a serve. Osama Ben Romdhane also scored 17 points, adding three aces and one successful block. Robert Andringa contributed 12 points, including two blocks.
The first two sets ended with a minimal difference of two points each, and the third offered the greatest drama.
Tourcoing led 24:21 and seemed close to victory, but the visitors saved three consecutive match points. An ace by Jo Calayato and a successful block by Marshman brought the score to 24:24.
Ben Romdhane secured another match point at 25:24, but Sète responded with two consecutive points and in turn had a chance to win the set at 26:25 after an attack error by Antov.
In the decisive rallies, however, Robert Andringa took responsibility. The Dutchman equalized for 26:26, then at 27:27 he made a successful attack and then ended the match with a block for 29:27.
The top scorer in the match was Tobias Schlienger from Sète with 23 points, including four aces. However, his efforts were not enough to prevent the visitors' fifth consecutive defeat since the start of the season.
With this success, Tourcoing accumulated 12 points after five rounds and continues the battle at the top of the standings. Sète remains in last place without a win and without a single point.