Rwanda U-23 men’s national volleyball team will be looking to finish as high as possible in the Africa Championships slated for November 5-13 in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt. According to head coach Paul Bitok, the players are responding well in training and he plans to use warm-up games against Kenyan sides later this month to put them in a more competitive mood ahead of the continental meet. He says some of the players already have experience playing in such big tournaments having featured at U-21 Africa Championships and World Championship last year. “Our preparations are going on well and I believe we shall be ready for the tournament. We need to be ready physically and mentally because we are going to face top teams like Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and others,” the Kenyan coach told Sunday Sport. He added: “The players are responding well in training and we will go to Egypt with a positive mindset believing that we can beat anyone. My target is finish as high as possible.” The 18-man started residential training camp last week and Bitok will name the final 12-player squad on October 28 before the trip to Kenya where they will play three friendly games against Prisons, GSU and Cooperative Bank before flying to Cairo for the final warm-up match against Egypt U23 side on November 3. The two finalists in Africa championships will qualify to represent Africa in the FIVB Men’s U23 World Championships 2015, which will be hosted by Brazil from October 6-13.
