Montpellier moved to first place in the standings before the remaining matches of the round were played, after securing a straight-sets away victory against Sète with a 3:0 (25:22, 25:19, 29:27) score in a French league match played on February 5, 2026, in front of 1304 spectators at the "Louis Marty" hall.

Middle blocker Nikolay Kurtev was on court for the entire match and finished with 5 points, +2 efficiency, 1 block, and a 50% attack success rate, after being set 8 times by the setter.

Pascual Lopez was the top scorer for the winners with 17 points, and Hirsch added another 13 for the important victory.

The hosts offered significant resistance only in the third set, when they took the lead early and managed to force the set into extra points. Ultimately, Montpellier dramatically snatched a 29:27 victory to close out the match without dropping a set.

In the decisive third set, Sète recorded 1 ace and 20 attack points, but also made 12 direct errors. Montpellier, for their part, responded with 1 ace, 13 attack points, 3 blocks, and half as many errors – 6.

Team statistics highlighted the visitors' superiority, particularly in blocking, attacking, and reception, while Sète recorded 3 aces compared to 2 for Montpellier.