The ninth round of the Marmara SpikeLigue delivered some shifts as Montpellier climbed to the top of the standings, Tourcoing upset league leader Tours, and Chaumont ended its poor run with a home victory.
Tourcoing avenged last week’s French Cup defeat by edging Tours 3–2 (16-25, 25-21, 25-17, 23-25, 15-13). Unbeaten at home this season, Tourcoing handed the defending champions a rare loss and tightened the race for first place.
Montpellier survived a scare against Ajaccio, winning in five sets (27-25, 23-25, 19-25, 25-22, 15-8). Ajaccio challenged throughout, but Montpellier controlled the tie-break to secure a crucial road win.
Cannes’ struggles at home continued with a 3–1 defeat to Sète (25-19, 20-25, 25-23, 25-20). Cannes led late in the third set before Sète closed strongly, taking control of the match and completing another convincing performance away from home.
Toulouse claimed its first away victory of the season with a comeback 3–2 win over Poitiers (16-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-20, 15-9). Poitiers appeared in command after taking a two-set lead, but Toulouse responded with a dominant final stretch to secure back-to-back wins.
Chaumont ended its early-season slump by sweeping Paris 3–0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-22). The win, their first after four home defeats in five matches, lifts them out of the bottom positions as Paris dropped a fourth straight match.
Saint-Nazaire overturned a two-set deficit to beat Nice 3–2 (19-25, 20-25, 25-20, 25-16, 15-13), snapping a three-match losing skid. Nice, meanwhile, continues to struggle despite competitive displays on the road.