Levallois-Paris secured a strong position for the second spot in the standings by defeating Terville-Florange 3-1 (25-19, 18-25, 25-13, 25-22) on Saturday. This victory puts them in contention for a qualification spot in the Challenge Cup (C3) with just one regular season game left.
Meanwhile, Vandoeuvre-Nancy, who was in second place behind Nantes, only managed to earn two points against Béziers in a tie-break win (25-23, 29-31, 19-25, 25-21, 15-10). Both Levallois-Paris and Vandoeuvre-Nancy have the same number of points, but the latter will be exempt from the final day of play while the former will face France Avenir. In the unlikely event of a 3-0 loss to the French hopefuls, the teams will be separated by the ratio of points won/lost.
Nantes Neptunes, who have already secured the top spot in the regular season standings, suffered a 3-1 loss to Le Cannet despite winning the first set (29-31, 25-18, 25-21, 25-22). This marks the third defeat of the season for Nantes and the seventh consecutive victory for the reigning French champions.
Marcq-en Baroeul clinched a spot in the playoffs by defeating Quimper in straight sets (25-13, 25-16, 25-13) while Chamalières, who were in 9th place three points behind, lost to Mulhouse on their home court. This loss mathematically eliminates Chamalières from catching up to Marcq-en-Baroeul in the final round of fixtures.
Pays d’Aix Venelles (10th) secured a 3-0 victory over France Avenir, while RC Cannes (11th) had an off week and was exempt from play.
