France opened the matches in Bydgoszcz with a 3-1 win over Argentina
Bydgoszcz, Poland, September 10, 2014 – France asserted its dominance over Argentina 3-1 (20-25, 25-17, 29-27, 25-18) in the opening clash of Pool E of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship at the Luczniczka Hall on Wednesday.
Key Points
• France’s Earvin Ngapeth topped all scorers with 21 points, while Sebastian Sole was the top scorer for Argentina with 12 points.
• A big discrepancy on the attack helped France in their win against Argentina 66-44.
• Five players from the French side scored in double digits.
• Conte was held to score just 10 points in the match.
The first set of play ensued on a point-by-point exchange by both squads until Argentina took a three-point advantage 12-9 that continued until 14-11. The Argentine lead ballooned further at 18-13, forcing French coach Laurent Tillie to call for timeout. After a run of three strong serves from outside hitter Ngapeth, France narrowed the gap to within just three points 20-17. Jose Luis Gonzalez and Sole unleashed superb attacks to help close the first set 25-20.
France jumped to an 8-5 lead and carried on that momentum to pull through and dominate the second technical timeout 16-10. The change in the frontliners of Argentina somehow affected the tempo of the game but somehow they managed to cut a small chunk of the lead. Nicolas Le Goff nailed the second set point in favour of France 25-17.
France had another great display in the third set and led 16-13 after a brilliant block by Antonin Rouzier and Ngapeth. The three points were suddenly wiped out as Argentina tied the match at 21-all. The dink of Nicolas Le Goff gave a set point to France 24-23 but Argentina persistently challenged them to extend the set. Both teams closely fought for the deadlock at 27-all. France won another point until a great save from Jenia Grebennikov set up Ngapeth for the kill to give France the 2-1 set advantage with the score at 29-27.
France showed their confidence and calmness in their offence that gave them a comfortable 16-8 advantage. The Argentines fought hard but could not match the skill quality that the Frenchmen were showing. Argentina’s defence could not hold the strong attacks of France that allowed the latter to secure the set and match 25-18.