The French women’s volleyball team won a fourth success in as many meetings at the Euro by winning calmly against Slovakia (3-0) on Monday in Tallinn, and regained the lead in group D before face the Netherlands on Tuesday. Already qualified for the round of 16 after their victory against Finland on Sunday, the French (4 wins, 11 points) are guaranteed to finish at least second in their group.
A victory on Tuesday against the Dutch, favorites of this group (3 successes, 9 points), would even offer them first place and a more affordable round of 16 against the 4th in group B. In the event of a defeat against the Netherlands, the players of Belgian coach Émile Rousseaux will find in the round of 16 the 3rd of group B, a place occupied for the moment by Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Already victorious over Finland in three sets on Sunday, the French did it again on Monday by winning (25-21, 25-19, 25-12) against the fragile Slovaks at the end of the first two sets and totally overwhelmed during the last round. After a balanced start to the match, Les Bleues were able to take advantage of several faults in the service of their opponents to take a few points in advance and pocket the first set on a new missed serve.
Led 4-1 at the start of the second set, the French women were able to get back into contact before concluding with an ace from their captain Héléna Cazaute. In the third set, Les Bleues easily completed their success, carried as in the first two rounds by Héléna Cazaute and Amélie Rotar, both authors of 11 points.