Martigues VB will not move up to Ligue A next season and finishes on a sour note by losing convincingly in front of their home crowd (1-3). Fans turned out in large numbers to support their favorites.
There was a slim hope – albeit faint – of seeing Ricardo Martinez’s players break into the elite of French volleyball. The players all sported a “bleached blond” hairstyle upon entering, cheered on by the crowd eager to witness the last match of captain Emmanuel Ragondet’s career.
The hope was to see the leaders from Royan falter against Reims. But Royan did not disappoint and easily won (0-3), confirming their strong away form where they won 11 matches compared to Martigues’ 10.
In reality, the championship shifted last March 27th when the Pirates came and triumphed 0-3 in Martigues, after the MVB had appeared to be the future winners for over three months. They are now tied for 2nd place with Saint-Jean d’Illac, who made a remarkable comeback with 9 consecutive victories, similar to Martigues’ form between November and February. The Illacais even handed them a defeat last month (0-3).
France Avenir without complex
Last night, Emmanuel Ragondet and his teammates suffered their 3rd home defeat against the confident young players of France Avenir, who grew stronger with each passing minute, showing no mercy to the former leaders, particularly troubling them with their service that constantly tested Martigues’ reception.
Despite Martigues taking the first set – a close win – against a determined opponent set on causing trouble for the competition’s runner-up, the rest of the match confirmed it was not Martigues’ night as France Avenir’s talented players dominated all three sets, slowly but surely gaining the upper hand.
Natzev-Nowelzyk, tormentors of Martigues
Ricardo Martinez tried various substitutions but in vain. On the other side, young players Natzev (receiver-attacker, 18 years old) and Nowalzyk (opposite, 19 years old) enjoyed themselves (scoring 30 points together) as France Avenir emerged victorious easily.
It was a pity for the spectators who hoped for a better outcome, but this defeat cannot overshadow the excellent journey undertaken by the Martigues team, who had long dreamed of reaching the top tier of French volleyball. Second place. A lesson to learn and hope to regain the elite level of French volleyball someday.
MARTIGUES 1 – FRANCE AVENIR 3
Gymnasium Julien Olive. Referees: MM Sawrei and Blanct.
Set details: 25-23 in 31, 18-25 in 22, 21-25 in 23, 18-25 in 25
For Martigues: 47 winning attacks (François and Marques Pereira 9, Talia 7), 6 aces (François and Pire 2), 7 blocks (Weidner and Arzac 2), 28 errors including 16 in serving.
Starting six for Martigues VB: Soldner then Dalli, Talia then Malarte, Pire then André-Ginoulhac, Wiedner, François then Marques Pereira, Fernandez then Arzac. Libero: Ragondet (captain).
Coach: Ricardo Martinez.
