The second week of the men`s Volleyball Nations League kicked off in Burgas with a decisive straight-sets victory for France against Ukraine. The French team secured the win largely thanks to an outstanding performance from the service line. This triumph propelled the reigning champions to sixth place in the current VNL standings with a 3-2 win-loss record and 8 points, moving ahead of Ukraine, who now sit in eighth place with a 2-3 record and 7 points.
France achieved their 3-0 victory (25-23, 25-21, 25-17) without relying heavily on the four Olympic champions who joined the squad specifically for the second week of competition. Instead, key players who were already part of the team two weeks prior were in top form and led France to the clean sweep.
The French team completely outserved Ukraine, tallying nine aces compared to their opponents` two. A significant six of these aces came from the combined efforts of opposite hitter Theo Faure and outside hitter Trevor Clevenot. Faure alone delivered four aces and also contributed two kill blocks, finishing as the match`s highest scorer with 18 points. Clevenot added two aces, two blocks, and 12 points from attacks, including the match-winning overpass kill, for a total of 16 points. Another French outside hitter, Antoine Pothron, also reached double digits with 11 points.
“We are very happy to win this game, because it was a difficult game against a good team and we didn’t make a lot of mistakes,” Pothron commented via VBTV. “The first set was so close and we needed to push in serving to win it. After that, we served well and blocked well, so it was easier for us.”
For Ukraine, their two outside hitters led the scoring, each contributing 11 points. Tymofii Poluian registered three kill blocks and an ace, while all of Dmytro Yanchuk`s points were from successful attacks.
Ukraine’s setter Serhii Yevstratov acknowledged the challenge, stating, “Of course, France are one of the best teams in the world and they showed us their serve, for example. They pushed a lot, while our reception was pretty bad today.” He concluded by calling it “a big lesson for us” and noted they “have a lot to improve.”
The opening day of the week`s competition continued with a match between Germany and Cuba in Belgrade. The second match in Burgas, featuring Turkiye against Slovenia, was scheduled to start later in the day. A total of six more games were on Wednesday`s agenda across the host cities of Belgrade, Burgas, and Chicago.
Jasper Thornfield 
Oliver Wrenwick