Volleyball: no start for Arago de Sète, which sees the playoffs move a little further away

The Sétois failed to take advantage of Paris' defeat the day before to get back into the race for the playoffs. FREE NOON – Jérôme Belluire

The Sétois lost 3-0 in Tourcoing this Saturday March 2. They are still seven points from 8th place.

Nantes had done the job the day before by eliminating Paris in three sets. But Arago failed to take advantage of the boost. This Saturday, on the Tourcoing floor, the Sétois delivered an uneven performance, as if there had been two matches in one. « There is this first set where we start very well, with good relaxation, with a challenge and without pressure », declares Luc Marquet. « We are at +4, we cannot widen the gap. We also have several set balls that we can't put on the ground…hellip; »

Lights out

And it ends at 31-29 for the TLM. End of the first match, the only one that will have been played. « Then, light off. We didn’t understand anything. We got stepped on. And in the third set, I brought in Pépin Rajoharivelo and Danylo Hrytsenko to bring freshness, but it wasn't enough… hellip; »By scoring 15 and 17 points in these two sets, Arago did not exist. Maybe the initial marathon was too much to digest. « This first set clearly puts us in it », continues the Sète coach. « In the dynamic, if we win it, it could be different. The Tourquennois were not dominant. But they relied exclusively on their point, which saved the day as has been the case for several matches. »

Result of the races: the situation is the same in the ranking but there are only three days left. Arago will have to finish with three victories to hope to survive beyond the regular phase. « We must first have a good match against Tours on Saturday at home. We owe it to ourselves. This will perhaps be our last match in Barrou as we know it. We will work on aggression all week to be there. » Qualification or not, history deserves a small feat.

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