The team of Tourcoing, with Bulgarian international Venislav Antov, suffered a 0:3 (24:26, 22:25, 23:25) away loss to Montpellier in a match from the third round of the French League A. Last season's finalist demonstrated greater stability in decisive moments and did not allow the match to go beyond three sets. This is Tourcoing's first loss; they have 5 points since the start of the season.
Individual performances
Bulgarian opposite hitter Venislav Antov played the entire match and finished with 11 points (1 ace). Out of 25 attacks, he scored 10, made two errors, and was blocked twice, which gave him 40% attack efficiency. The Bulgarian was among the most active players for Tourcoing, but his efforts were not enough for a comeback.
Top performers for the winners were:
Simon Hirsch (Germany) – 12 points
Ezequiel Palacios (Argentina) – 11 points
Nicolas Le Goff (France) – 10 points
Match statistics
| Category | Montpellier | Tourcoing |
|---|---|---|
| Attacks | 37 | 40 |
| Blocks | 8 | 7 |
| Aces | 5 | 2 |
| Points from opponent errors | 26 | 20 |
The numbers clearly show a minimal difference in blocking, but Montpellier benefited more from opponent errors
— 26 points, as well as direct points from serves, which often decide sets won by a small margin.
