Faure scores 20 as the defending champions get one step closer to the Finals
Published 07:27, 16 Jul 2025
Outside hitter Yacine Louati scored 15 points in the French victory
Reigning Olympic champions France took another step forward in their title-defense campaign in the Volleyball Nations League 2025 on Wednesday and won the first of four matches they’re set to play this week in Gdańsk.
Adding three Olympic champions to their squad this week in Poland, the French had a few hiccups in the first set, but recovered in a strong way and took China down 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-17) in the first match of the week at the Ergo Arena.
Olympic champions Théo Faure and Trévor Clévenot, who have been with head coach Andrea Giani’s team since the start of the VNL 2025, had both major roles in the French comeback, with the opposite delivering a match-high 20 points (18 kills, one block, one ace), and the veteran registering 15, the same amount as fellow outside hitter Yacine Louati.
“We’re still getting in a rhythm, so nothing is really perfect at this point,” setter Antoine Brizard remarked. “It’s nice to have almost our full roster here this week. We hope we can keep improving, we want to get better every match and end the week well with a great one against Poland.”
Opposite Zihua Wen was the only Chinese player to get to double digits in scoring – he registered 13 points, with 11 kills, one block and one ace.
The victory has the Europeans closer to advancing to the VNL Finals, which are going to be held in Ningbo, China, from July 30-August 3, as they moved up to fourth place with six wins and 18 points. The Chinese are 15th with two wins and seven points, but are already guaranteed in the Finals as the host country.
Deeply involved in the battle to qualify for the Finals, Cuba secured the first of the multiple wins they will need this week to book their tickets to Ningbo in exciting fashion. The Caribbean came back twice before overcoming Bulgaria 3-2 (23-25, 25-16, 23-25, 27-25, 15-13) and are now inside the qualification zone.
The Cubans jumped from ninth to seventh place, with five wins and 15 points and are now in a better position to qualify. The defeat to a direct opponent took Bulgaria down to 12th place, with four wins and 12 points.
Star outside hitter Marlon Yant scored 23 points (18 kills, three blocks, two aces) for the Cubans and returned to the top of the VNL scorers table, with 172 points. Making his first appearance in this year's edition of the tournament, middle blocker Robertlandy Simón was on fire, delivering 19 points, with 13 kills and six blocks. Opposite Jose Masso (16), middle blocker Javier Concepcion (15) and outside hitter Jose Miguel Gutierrez (11) all got to double digits in scoring too.
"We're happy with the win because Bulgaria is a good team," Simón said. "They're younger, but they can fight with anyone. We have another difficult match against Poland tomorrow and we'll bring our fight again."
Counting on star setter Simeon Nikolov, who had left the second week of the VNL injured, Bulgaria were led by his older brother and outside hitter Aleksandar Nikolov, who matched Yant's production with 19 kills, three blocks and one ace.
The third and last match of the day in Gdańsk will have hosts Poland meeting Iran at 20:00 local time (18:00 GMT).
Volleyball Nations League 2025: full schedule and results
On Thursday, the action continues at the Ergo Arena with two encounters – China and Iran go first, at 16:30 (14:30 GMT), with Poland and Cuba battling later, at 20:00 (18:00 GMT).
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