02/12/2015 20:54
AS CANNES stun Austrian vice champions with 3:0 win
2016 CEV Volleyball Cup - Men
Bleiburg, Austria, December 2, 2015. AS CANNES continued their triumphal march in the 2016 CEV Volleyball Cup – Men also on Wednesday night when they recorded another straight 3:0 victory in the competition, edging past Austria’s underdogs Posojilnica AICH/DOB (25-15, 25-19, 25-13). AICH/DOB were able to keep the score tight at times, but AS CANNES controlled the game with great serving and mighty spikes. The locals fought with eager determination and delighted their audience with some spectacular actions, but the French team was simply unbeatable.
The visitors started out strong, the scoreboard showing an 8:3 lead for AS CANNES at the first technical time-out. The excellent performance of the French heavyweight continued also later on (12:5) which is why AICH/DOB’s head coach Matjaz Hafner had to call for a time-out to try and stop that storm. With this the Austrian underdog was trying to find its rhythm but AS CANNES was always one big step ahead also at the second technical time-out (16:7). The locals put much effort in turning the tables, but it made no difference - the visitors could exploit their opponent’s every single error (22:13) and therefore won the opening set by a landslide 25-15.
At the beginning of the second set AICH/DOB came out very strong, this leading to a neck-to-neck race between Austria’s rookies and the French odds-on favourite (5:5). Still, AS CANNES made fewer mistakes, so the French team went to the front with a thin margin at the first technical time-out (8:7). As both teams put every effort in winning a rally the audience could watch spectacular actions in defence and block. The locals tried to keep the score in balance (11:11), but the French heavyweight started setting the pace and was also leading at the second technical time-out (16:13). After that, the players from the French Riviera widened their lead to four points (18:14) and that negative trend continued for the locals also later on (21:16). The Austrian underdogs tried to show some more resistance, but as they were evidently struggling with their reception and block, AS CANNES easily wrapped it up at 25-19.
The third set was the logical consequence of the previous one. AICH/DOB tried to stand the French storm with some first-class actions, but AS CANNES was always one step ahead and was therefore again the leading team at the first technical time-out (8:5). In the course of this set the French serve became stronger whereas the home team had to struggle with a row of spike and defence problems. The locals really tried hard to catch up with their opponent (16:10 for AS CANNES at the second technical time-out), but the giants from the French Riviera proved too strong and cruised to a well-deserved straight-set victory (25-13).
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