In a match of extreme fluctuations, Saint-Nazaire was very close to pulling off one of the biggest surprises in the French Cup quarterfinals, but ultimately lost dramatically 3:2 (25:22, 27:29, 25:13, 27:29, 15:6) to the reigning champion Tours.
The visitors from Saint-Nazaire showed character and concentration, twice equalizing the sets after extensions, demonstrating maturity and composure against one of the tournament favorites. In the decisive tie-break, however, Tours' class and deeper bench prevailed.
A strong match for Vladimir Garkov, but without a happy ending.
Bulgarian international Vladimir Garkov played a very strong game and was among the most consistent volleyball players on the court. He finished as Saint-Nazaire's second-highest scorer with 15 points, including:
2 aces
39% attack efficiency
solid serving and consistent reception
With his two aces in the match, Vladi Garkov significantly improved his statistics in this element, now having 19 aces for the league and the French Cup tournament (1.5 points per set from serve). We remind that in this element, Garkov is fifth in the league, where from 11 matches he has 15 points scored from initial serves.
In the match, it was Garkov and German international John who managed to maintain a high level, but the lack of sufficient support from the other teammates proved decisive.
The top scorer in the match was indeed the Bundesliga team's opposite hitter Philipp John, who scored 23 points, but even his excellent performance was not enough to eliminate the champion.
For Tours, Slovenian international Nik Mujanović led the team with 21 points, but the more even distribution of scoring also played a key role:
Alexander Schtrellau – 15 points
Yaussia Kavogo – 14 points
It was this support that allowed the champion to dominate the tie-break, where Saint-Nazaire visibly lost concentration and physical resources.
Saint-Nazaire can leave the tournament with their heads held high – the team was on the verge of a sensational elimination of the champion and showed very high-level volleyball. For Tours, this victory means a place among the top 4 in the French Cup, after the team finished fifth in the competition last season.
