August 23, (THEWILL) – The hopes of the Nigeria Women’s Volleyball team reaching the semi-finals of the ongoing African Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship in Yaounde, Cameroon, were dashed on Tuesday, after a 3-0 loss to 2021 runners-up Kenya.
The Nigerian team started strongly, demolishing Mali 3-0, but ended group play with 2 wins and 3 defeats, including back-to-back losses against Egypt and Algeria. The loss to Algeria resulted in a tough quarter-final draw against 9-time champions Kenya.
The Paul Bitok-led Kenyan side dominated from start to finish, winning decisively 25-14, 25-17, 25-12. Nigeria coach, Samuel Ajayi, praised his young, inexperienced team’s improvement against top competition, stating: “I so much believe in my team, I trust them in what they are doing, it’s a new team that we are building, and most of the players are from the U19 and U21, and I believe that with a competition like this going, they would be able to build up their confidence, and before you know it, they would rule Africa again.”
With the win, Kenya continues an unbeaten run, cementing themselves as championship favourites. In the other quarter-finals, Egypt trounced Uganda 3-0 and will face Rwanda, who narrowly beat Algeria 3-2. Hosts Cameroon impressively defeated Morocco 3-0 and will meet Kenya in the semis.
Nigeria will hope to finish strongly against Morocco on Wednesday, before exiting the tournament. As Ajayi noted, their inexperienced squad gained valuable experience in Yaounde as they continue to build for the future.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
