IN PICTURES, IN PICTURES. Volleyball: SNVBA wins 3-1 against Tours, Saint-Nazaire one game away from the first title in history

This is the beautiful story: a little thumb eating an ogre. Saint-Nazaire continues to create surprises. Just two years after their rise to the volleyball elite SNVBA players beat the great Tours team this Wednesday night.

3 sets to 1 (25-17, 21-25, 25-17, 25-17). A victory in two hours. Tours Volley-Ball aims to tenth championship title from France while Saint-Nazaire saw the first final in its entire history in Ligue A. A final that goes to the now legendary Coubertin room, packed to the brim. Its reputation as a stew is well established.

“Never easy to play in this room” Luca Ramon from TVB

No downtime in the stands, every point is cheered, every break is sung. THE followers of SetAcés sets the pace, the rest of the teams follow suit. “I’ve never seen Coubertin like this, it’s incredible” entrusts a loyal supporter of the stadium for more than 30 years.

“They put pressure on us from the start and we gave up very quickly” confides Luca Ramon from TVB. “It’s always difficult to play in this room” trust the libero again.

ONE others seen lost but narrowly for the Nazarites, 21 to 25. That will be the only one. At the final signal, the room explodes.

“It’s great what we’ve done in two years, I’m so proud” entrusts manager Gilles Gosselin. But no pressure for the return match on Sunday at 19:00 in Tours. “It’s Tours who have pushed, who have their backs against the wall. Title holders, they’ve been trolled. We’ll remain challengers until the end.” SNVBA captain Ludovic Duée wants to keep his head on his shoulders “in robot mode until Sunday night”.

ONE one hundred supporters will take the trip to Tours. “But we will play as always with humility and ambition” said the manager again. At the exit of the Coubertin this Wednesday evening, someone dreamed of a giant screen in Saint-Nazaire to follow the end of this final which is already historic.