With the victory, the French, who had lost to Argentina in their opening match on Wednesday, collected their first three points in the VNL 2025. Italy, which had earned five points with victories over Bulgaria and Germany, were handed their first defeat in the tournament.
The two Olympic champions who made the trip to Quebec this week, outside hitter Trévor Clévenot and opposite Théo Faure stepped up for the French, leading the team with 13 and 12 points respectively. Middle blocker François Huetz also had a terrific performance, scoring 13 points with seven kills, four blocks and two aces.
France’s starting setter, 19-year-old Amir Tizi-Oualou also had a pivotal role in the team’s victory, scoring the game-winning point with an ace – he ended the match with five points. The Olympic champions were strongly supported by the home fans in the French-speaking city and thanked them at the end of the match.
“The crowd was amazing here,” the setter said. “We got a lot of energy from them during the match, and at times it really felt like we were playing in France. At the end, we talked in the huddle that we didn’t need a hero to win this match. So, I just went conservative with the floater and it worked well.”
