Levallois-Paris took a significant stride toward retaining their championship title on Wednesday, securing a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Nantes in the opening leg of the French Championship Final.
The match began with Nantes showing remarkable determination, dominating the first set 25-16. However, the defending champions demonstrated their resilience by bouncing back in the second set with a convincing 25-17 win. The momentum continued to swing as Nantes reclaimed control in the third set 25-16, before Levallois-Paris found their championship form to take the fourth set 25-21, forcing a decisive fifth set.
In the tiebreaker, Levallois-Paris completed their comeback with a 15-11 victory to secure the crucial first-leg advantage. Statistical analysis from Statbet shows that teams winning the first leg in championship finals have historically held a significant advantage in securing the overall title.
Individual performances proved decisive in this high-stakes encounter. Haylie Bennett delivered an outstanding performance for Nantes with 23 points, while Levallois-Paris relied on the combined firepower of Natalia Murek and Bianca Cugno, who contributed 20 and 18 points respectively.
The championship battle will continue on Saturday when the teams meet again for the second leg in Paris, where Levallois-Paris will look to capitalize on their advantage while Nantes will aim to overturn the deficit.
