Toulouse. Stéphane Sapinart: “It’s really a great reaction”
The Spacers took another step towards maintaining by winning at Plessis-Robinson (3-2). Their trainer breathes. Well almost because the level of play remains fluctuating.
In what state do you come out after such a crazy match, after saving three match points and coming up with two sets of handicap?
We had a very good start to the match (10-4) and then we became apathetic even though we had two set points in the second set. We were in a position to lead 2-0 and then we found ourselves in the one where we almost took none. We said things to each other in the locker room at the break. It’s really a nice reaction to come back like that in the game and end up winning.
How do you explain this shift?
We were a little cleaner, a little denser in the bouldering even if we had a lot of difficulty in this sector. It’s a very choppy game, not super quality, on both sides. But it’s a two-point match and, given the context, it’s really good when Plessis-Robinson is already saved.
There were a lot of refereeing mistakes and the video stoppages proved to be endless…
Volleyball is really not an easy sport to referee with a lot of contentious decisions (smiles). Fortunately, the video is there, despite everything.
You have a little margin on Cannes, which brings up the rear and finds itself relegated (8 points).
In my mind, we have zero margin because there are a lot of games left. That’s why it’s a great result. If we beat Cambrai and Cannes, we can move forward but it will also depend on the results of the other competitors. I remain cautious.
Do you feel fatigue weighing on the organisms?
The season is starting to be long even if we finally have a full squad for two weeks, which hasn’t happened to us much during this championship. Rotations are good.
A victory with this scenario, is it worth double?
Winning without being serene or confident, by fighting, without being brilliant, indeed, it feels good. Afterwards, we can play well and lose or play badly and win, a bit like this evening (yesterday). On the game, there are better things to do but the main thing is to take points.