Earvin Ngapeth prepares to spike the ball against Brazil
Poitiers, France, June 12, 2015 - Earvin Ngapeth and Antonin Rouzier were in inspired form for France as they comfortably beat the Czech republic in their first tie of the weekend with both players scoring 16 points to lead France to a 3-0 victory.
Pool D leaders France were first out of the blocks racing into an early 14-7 lead sharing the points out across the side in the first set. The Czech Republic were rocked by the explosive start of France and despite taking timeouts to slow their momentum, could do nothing to stop them opening up a commanding lead in Poitiers thanks to some inspired blocking from Benjamin Toniutti and Nicolas Le Goff. The home side would not relent their grip on the first set taking it comfortably 25-15.
The second set was a tighter affair throughout with both sides looking to land the killer blow to the opposition's chances and as the set wore on, France again seemed to deliver the class in the tie with Antonin Rouzier beginning to make his mark on the tie, carrying on his feats of the previous week, where he'd inspired France to take maximum points from their Pood D encounters.
The Czech Republic were valliantly sticking in the second set but were always playing catch-up and could do nothing as Rouzier and Earvin Ngapeth continued to inspire the French to take a 2-0 lead despite the Czech Republic threatening to pull off a much needed comeback, however the home side took a 2-0 lead after a 25-23 set win.
The Czech Republic needed to start the third set quickly but it seemed the fight had been taken out of the away side as France opened up a 9-4 lead hoping to wrap up a quick win and keep their 100% record intact. Both Rouzier and the impressive Ngapeth were relentless in their scoring as France opened up a 16-6 lead. The end would come quickly for the Czech Republic who were defeated 25-11 in the final set as France took a 3-0 win.
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