Rouen, France, May 27, 2018 - Stephen Boyer stole the light when France claimed their third straight win as they swept past Australia 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 36-34) in Sunday's week 1 action at the 2018 Nations League in Rouen.
The outside hitter from Chaumont VB was the sta of the match, claiming 18 points, including two blocks.
There also were impressive contributions from Kevin Tillie (11 points) and Earvin Ngapeth (8 points) as the French, who were excellent at the net earning 8 blocks to just 5 from their opponents, cruised past the Volleyroos in front of a partisan crowd.
Lincoln Alexander Williams was once again the most prolific player on the other side of the net, making 10 points for Australia.
France headed into the game hoping to make it three from three as they faced a team they have dominated in four of their last five encounters and haven't lost to since 2014. Australia lost to both Iran 3-0 and to Japan 3-1 in week 1 and were looking to end on a massive surprise before heading to Bulgaria.
Benjamin Toniutti started the first set with two aces to put Les Bleus on the right path while Earvin Ngapeth spiked twice to give France a strong 5-0 lead. Australia finally got on the board as the French blocked a Jordan Richards spike... But it just wasn't enough for the Volleyroos who were picked apart by a side showing plenty of agility and guile in attack to increase the lead to 11-2. In cruise control, the French enjoyed a commanding position as Australia, despite Thomas Hodges, never seemed to be able to come back into the game (17-8). The Aussies did put a string of points in the business end of the set but it was too little too late (25-17).
In the beginning of the second set, Australia set out to show they were no pushovers and rushed into the lead (4-6). But the home side hit back superbly as Ngapeth turned on the style (16-12). With the wind in their sails, Les Bleus scored four straight points with any kind of reaction from Australia except from Peacock who served into the net to make it 2-0 (25-20).
Les Bleus continued their dominating performance at the net as Jonas Aguenier claimed a monster block to increase France's lead to three points (9-6). A last ditch effort kept Australia's hopes of an upset alive as Tillie misfired (14-16). But Thibault Rossard spiked and Aguenier blocked again as the French staged a revival of their own (21-19). And it was Boyer who wrapped it up for France, despite squandering nine match points (36-34).