Ligue A Look-In #4: Will the City of Lights Be the City of Champions?

Note: To spread excitement for one of the top professional men’s leagues in the world, VolleyMob will profile each of the 12 teams competing in French Ligue A during the 2017-2018 season. 

ESSENTIAL LINKS

• Paris Volley Team Site
• 2017-2018 Paris Volley Roster
• French Ligue A Site
• 2017-2018 Schedule
• VolleyMob’s 5 Reasons to Follow French Ligue A

STORY LINES

Paris Volley finished fourth in the regular season table last year with a 13-9 record before losing in the Ligue A quarterfinals to GFC Ajaccio. The perennial front-runners will look to improve on that performance in the 2017-2018 campaign with a lineup that features three transfers from other Ligue A sides, as well as UCLA alum, Mitch Stahl, who recently won a gold medal for Team USA in the 2017 NORCECA Championships.

Players to Watch

Since the side will have to replace the point production of departing receiver/attacker Franco Paese, who leaves for Brazil, keep an eye on opposite Wouter Ter Maat, who spent last season with Bundesliga power, Berlin Volleys, and played for the Netherlands in the 2017 World League and European Championships. After being named a top player in Group 3 at the 2017 World League, Estonian middle blocker Ardo Kreek returns for a sixth season with Paris.

Players Arriving

• Pavel Kuklinski from Stroitel Mińsk in Belarus
• Wouter Ter Maat from Berlin Volleys in Germany
• Julien Lavagne from Montpellier UC in French Ligue A
• Valentin Bouleau from Rennes Volley 35 in French Ligue A
• Mitch Stahl from UCLA in the USA
• Nicolas Rossard from Spacer’s Toulouse in French Ligue A

Players Leaving

• Taichiro Koga to Warta Zawiercie in Poland
• Kévin Kaba to Montpellier UC in French Ligue A
• Thiago Henrique Sens to Montpellier UC in French Ligue A
• Franco Paese to Sesi Sao Paulo in Brazil
• Kamil Baranek

3 Must-See Matches

• Paris Volley v. Chaumont 52 (Oct. 21, 2017) Two American rookies, Mitch Stahl from UCLA and Michael Saeta of UC Irvine face off in an early match-up between two viable contenders for the Ligue A crown
• Paris Volley v. GFC Ajaccio (Nov. 18, 2017) Rematch of the 2016-2017 quarterfinal that ended the Paris side’s championship hopes last season
• Paris Volley v. Tours (Jan. 13, 2018) The two long-time Ligue A powers meet for the first time in the 2017-2018 campaign

2017-2018 ROSTER

* Indicates new roster addition

• Simon Dubreuil, receiver/attacker
• Danny Poda, receiver/attacker
• Roland Gergye, receiver/attacker
• Julien Lavagne, receiver/attacker*
• Pavel Kuklinski, receiver/attacker*
• Wouter Ter Maat, opposite*
• Mitch Stahl, middle*
• Franck Lafitte, middle
• Ardo Kreek, middle
• Nuno Pinheiro, setter
• Valentin Bouleau, setter*
• Nicolas Rossard, libero*

VIDEO