Former champions France remained on course with its fifth straight win in Group 1 of the 2017 FIVB Volleyball World League, as Stephen Boyer and Trevor Clevenot made a blazing performance against European neighbours Italy in a four-set clash.
Boyer had another productive night for France, as he scored 20 points, including 17 attacks, one block and two aces; then Clevenot added 15 markers. Julien Lyneel and Nicolas Le Goff also subsidised the French win, scoring in double-figures.
Their current five-match winning streak in the competition is their best since they were victorious in their first 15 fixtures of the 2015 edition.
France have won their last six World League matches against Italy since May 2012. However, Italy still holds the advantage in number of victories in their 41 encounters in World League history. Italy claimed 24 wins, while France had 17.
These two teams recently met at world level on August 7, when Italy recorded a straight-set win over France at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games preliminary round.
Meanwhile, Slovenia and Spain suffered their first losses after a 4-0 start in Groups 2 and 3, respectively. Slovenia lost to Japan in a five-set encounter in Takasaki, while Spain bowed down to Germany in straight sets in Linz.
Results- Group 1
Volleyball World League 2017 Results
Results- Group 2
Results- Group 3
