France Will Start World League Finals With Team USA

2017 FIVB WORLD LEAGUE – GROUP 1

• Group 1
• July 4-8
• Curitiba, Brazil
• FIVB World League Finals
• Schedule/Results

The Frenchmen began their World League campaign on a huge run, going 6-0, gaining the maximum 18 points they could earn in the first two weeks of play. The team’s only loss of the World League so far has come to Italy in the third week of play in a tough five-setter. Despite the rough start to week three, the French were able to turn things around in their finals two matches, taking down Canada and Belgium in straight set sweeps.

Key Contributors

• Stephen Boyer – Boyer has been a dominant force for the Frenchmen in the absence of Ngapeth in the first two weeks of play. Over the course of nine matches, Boyer has produced 165 points on 135 kills, 13 blocks and 17 aces. The 165 points put him in first overall in points scored as well as the number one server in Group 1 play.
• Trevor Clevenot – Overall, Clevenot ranks 18th in points scored with 91. His consistent play helped the squad to the #1 seed in the World League.
• Earvin Ngapeth – Ngapeth is making a slow return to the French court after an injury kept him out of the game for the first two weeks of play. He made a return to the third week, but did not see much action, scoring only five points. His track record with the national team keeps him in the running to be a strong contributor for the French crew.
• Kevin Le Roux – Over the course of the World League, Le Roux hasn’t produced the highest numbers for France, with only 48 points, but has been a dominant factor at the net. Le Roux has blocked 14 balls so far, being a presence at the net. In the second week of play, Le Roux went down with a slight ankle sprain that kept took him out of the remainder of the match and week three play.

France sees eight players from their 2016 Rio Olympic squad that placed 10th in the competition return to the finals line-up for the World League. Boyer has been a strong presence on the court for the French team in the absence of Ngapeth being injured the first two weeks. Ngapeth and Le Roux

Ngapeth and Le Roux are returners from the Olympics this past year. Ngapeth ended the competition with 79 points while Le Roux added just 28. With Le Roux having gone down with an injury in week two, his status for the World League finals remains unknown.

Roster (* denotes 2016 Olympic team members)

• Jonas Aguenier
• Jenia Grebennikov*
• Jean Patry
• Trevor Clevenot*
• Benjamin Toniutti*
• Julien Lyneel
• Earvin Ngapeth*
• Kevin Le Roux*
• Antoine Brizard
• Stephen Boyer
• Pierre Pujol*
• Nicolas Le Goff*
• Horacio D’almeida
• Daryl Bultor
• Guillaume Quesque
• Thibault Rossard*
• Nicolas Rossard
• Barthelemy Chinenyeze

Final Six Play

#1 seeded France will take on #6 USA on July 4 to open up their Final Six play followed by #3 Serbia on July 6. Depending on the results of the matches will determine if France will move on to the semifinals on July 7.