Rwanda qualify for quarterfinals despite Morocco loss
Sunday, August 20, 2023
Morocco had to beat Rwanda 15-9 in the tiebreaker set to bring their three-match winning streak to an end after securing the victory in a five-set thriller on Sunday.
The loss, however, didn’t prevent Paulo de Tarso’s side from finishing in the second place of Group B and reach the quarter-finals of the Women's African Nations Volleyball Championship which is underway in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Rwanda lost the opening game against pre-tournament favourites Kenya before making three consecutive wins against Lesotho, Burkina Faso and Uganda to finish second behind Kenya in the five-team group.
The team will face either Nigeria or Algeria in the quarterfinals as the pai are fighting for a third-place finish in Group A which is led by Egypt and hosts Cameroon who are second.
Rwanda came to the game targeting to win at least two sets in order to finish in the second place and they achieved it the time they finished the first three sets leading with 2-1 (18-25, 25-23, 25-22).
De Tarso’s team had a slow start to the game at Mfandena Gymnasium, letting Morocco to win the opening set 25-18. But Rwandan ladies quickly fought back to win the second set 25-23 and the third 25- 22 to lead the way with one more set to play.
There were hopes that the East African representatives would go on to win the game but
Morocco held their nerve which paid off as they won the fourth set 28-26 to force the game into the tiebreak which they won 15-9 to take home the win.
Despite the win, the Moroccan failed to leapfrog Rwanda whose two set cemented a second place finish with 10 points.
A total of 12 teams are taking part in the tournament. They include hosts Cameroon, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Egypt, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Uganda and Rwanda.
Home side Cameroon are looking to defend the trophy they won in 2021 in Kigali, Rwanda, after beating Kenya 3-1 sets (25-21, 25-23, 15 -25 and 25-23) in the final.