Poitiers and Montpellier moved to the brink of the MARMARA Spike League final after both teams earned road victories in Game 1 of their best-of-three semifinal series.
Poitiers swept Paris 3-0 to grab a 1-0 series lead and stay unbeaten against the capital club this season. Kèvin Kobrine and Thomas Pujol scored 12 points each, while Simon Magnin added 10.
Paris, coming off a strong late-season run that included a Coupe de France title and a quarterfinal upset of Tours was led by Mathis Henno who led all scorers with 14 points.
Montpellier also opened with an away win, beating Sète 3-1 behind 25 points from Simon Hirsch. Ezequiel Palacios and Tomas Lopez Pascual added 14 points each.
Sète was led by Luuc Van Der Ent with 18 points, while Benedikt Sablatnig had 16.
Game 2 of both series will be played April 24. Deciding Game 3s, if necessary, are scheduled for April 26.
Results
MARMARA Spike League Semifinals – Game 1
- Poitiers def. Paris 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 26-24) — Poitiers leads series 1-0
- Montpellier def. Sète 3-1 (25-21, 25-27, 25-22, 25-22) — Montpellier leads series 1-0
