Rouen, France, May 27, 2018 – France dictated the tempo in their straight-set win against Australia, giving a lot of players an opportunity to see some court action at the FIVB Volleyball Nations League.
France coach Laurent Tillie: “This match was more peaceful than the previous ones, given the opponents’ game was a little easier to read. The Australians passed well, which surprised me. I thought we should have pushed them more. They have undeniable physical qualities but the other teams are more skilled. What I gathered from the matches this weekend is that we won three times, giving all the players some court time. Our goal is to have as many wins as possible, above all in France, because we play in front of our home crowd.”
France player Earvin Ngapeth: “We felt really good. The important thing was to have all of us play a little, feel the rhythm and connection again. We are all satisfied with the amount of court time we had. Three wins, that’s good for confidence, but then again we need to keep on working.
We have planned some turnover for the next rounds in order to arrive at the final round fully pumped up and prepared. It’s rare that we will have the opportunity to play in France. This year, a big event will take place in Lille and I’m hoping the stadium will be packed with our supporters. Winning a trophy in front of our fans would be historical.”
Australia player Jordan Richards: “We were close. We did a good job tonight in keeping the ball up, but we need to close out these sets. Still, this is a long tournament. We’ve improved over the three games here and we are certainly getting close to winning some sets. We are hoping to get some wins in the next matches of the Volleyball Nations League.”