Paris (AFP)
The French volleyball team, which led two sets to zero against Serbia, finally conceded their first Nations League defeat in Rimini (Italy) on Friday after a match of rare intensity (25-22, 26-24, 22-25, 23-25, 9-15).
The French volleyball players got off to the best start against defending European champions Serbia, winning the first two sets.
Unbeaten since the start of the championship, they seemed to be on their way to pocket a fifth straight victory after their demonstration the day before against Brazil (3-0), but the Serbs raised their level of play to turn the game around.
After having equalized with two sets everywhere, they largely dominated the tie-break 15-9), to offer themselves a hard-fought success which puts them back in the leading pack (4th) of this preliminary round, just behind the Blues .
France will have the opportunity to revive Saturday against Japan.
Then, she will be able to breathe for four days before meeting the formidable Russians on June 9.
Already qualified for the Tokyo Olympics (July 23-August 8), Laurent Tillie's Blues are competing in this League of Nations (ex-World League), where each team faces the other 15 once, within a sanitary bubble in the seaside town on the Adriatic coast.
At the end of this first phase (May 28-June 23), the first four will play the semi-finals and the final, the weekend of June 26 and 27.
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