France setter Benjamin Toniutti counted on the team's unity in their match against China
Tokyo, Japan, May 28, 2016 – France captain Benjamin Toniutti highlighted that their unity helped them with the comeback after their second set loss, while China captain Jiao Shuai felt that the see-saw trend in the match was the reason for their loss.
France coach Laurent Tillie: “I'm happy with the result of 3-1. China played well. I was impressed with their setters, wing spikers and opposites. I think the result speaks for the difference in experience of the teams. We had unity in the team and that helped us to win. I took off Earvin Ngapeth in the middle of the match because we have other great players.”
France captain Benjamin Toniutti: “It was a tough match because China played well. The French team did not know much about China. We were down in the second set but came back to win in four sets and get the three points. We will now focus on tomorrow's match. China's block was very good. They were ready for our attacks many times. Ngapeth played well in the first set but lost pace like the rest of the team in the second set.
China coach Xie Guochen: “I was able to see why France is a great team with great experience. We played well. I hope we will gain more experience from these matches. We were not able to relax and play well in key moments. We will continue to play hard in the coming matches.”
China captain Jiao Shuai: “We played a strong team. We were able to show our strength. We could not find our pace in the first set which made it tough. It was a see-saw game and we ended up losing, so it was frustrating. France put up a good defence.”