The Memorial Kayumba tournament concluded in Huye on Sunday, with APR Volleyball Club and Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) crowned champions in male and female categories respectively. The annual tournament is organised in memory of former Groupe Scolaire Officiel de Butare (GSOB) head teacher Emmanuel Kayumba who played an instrumental role in the development of volleyball in Rwanda. In the men’s category, Rwanda Energy Group (REG) which had previously won the tournament in 2020, failed to retain the trophy after losing the final to APR VC by 3 sets to one. REG got off to a bright start in the final by winning the opening set by 25-21, but the army side bounced back and won the three consecutive sets with 25-23, 25-20 and 25-23. In the womens category, RRA beat RP IPRC-Kigali 3-0 sets (25-15, 25-17 and 25-20) to retain the trophy they last won in 2020. Meanwhile, second division side GSOB were knocked out of the competition, despite playing before their home fans, following a 3-0 set defeat (24-26, 24-26, 23-25) to College Christ Roi in the semi-final. Christ Roi went on to beat Petit Seminaire 3-2 sets in a hard-fought victory over Petit Seminaire Virgo Fidelis (21-25, 28-26, 23-25, 28-26, 17-15) to take home the trophy. After the tournament, APR’s Venuste Gatsinzi and Françoise Yankurije won the player of the tournament prizes in the men and women’s categories.
