Coupe de France volleyball round of 16 draw Narbonne Montpellier, Digi Mart USA News (France): A tough assignment awaits the Narbonne players in the round of 16 of the Coupe de France. The draw for the second round, in which Ligue A teams take part, was held Thursday, November 5, late in the afternoon at the headquarters of the French Volleyball Federation.
After the round of 32 without the top six teams from the 2025-2026 French championship, who were exempt from this round, Montpellier, Poitiers, Tours, Tourcoing and Toulouse were in the mix. Paris, the most recent champion, was not, having been eliminated fairly easily by Chaumont on Tuesday evening (1-3, 22-25, 13-25, 25-19, 21-25).
For the Centurions Narbonne, the match against Ajaccio, relegated to Ligue B this summer, was decided quickly on Corsican soil. Coach Patrick Duflos’s team showed strength for the first time this season, delivering a complete performance from start to finish, notably thanks to a strong serving quality (0-3, 22-25, 15-25, 18-25).
Before hosting Tours and Earvin Ngapeth this Saturday evening at 7 p.m., the team from Aude had kept an eye on the draw to discover their future opponent. The Centurions could have drawn one of the four Ligue B teams: Chalon-sur-Saône, Rennes, Saint-Quentin or Grand Nancy.
Narbonne was drawn in the second-to-last position, leaving only one possible opponent, selected by the secretary of the French Volleyball Federation.
The match will be a derby at the Narbonne Arena on Tuesday, November 24 at 8 p.m. against the reigning French champion Montpellier.
It will not be an easy task for the Narbonne players given the strength of their opponent, although the Montpellier team is struggling in the league. Eleventh place, one spot ahead of the Audois, with three points, MHSC has not yet launched its 2026-2027 season.
Before that meeting, the Centurions will play three Volstar matches: against Tours, Nice and at Saint-Nazaire. Montpellier must face Saint-Nazaire, then the Supercup against Paris, before hosting Cannes and Chaumont.
In terms of honours, Montpellier has reached the Coupe de France final four times (2008, 2010, 2024 and 2025) without lifting the trophy, while the Centurions have never gone beyond a semi-final, in 2012-2013. The two Occitan teams will meet for a place in the quarter-finals before meeting in the Hérault in the league on Friday, December 4.
Round of 16 pairings: Chalon-sur-Saône (Ligue B) vs. Nice; Cannes vs.
Royan; Chaumont vs. Tourcoing; Grand Nancy (Ligue B) vs.
Poitiers; Saint-Quentin (Ligue B) vs. Tours; Rennes (Ligue B) vs.
Toulouse; Sète vs. Saint-Nazaire; Narbonne vs.
Montpellier.
