After a long off-season, the Rwanda Volleyball National League (RVNL) returned to action over the weekend with entertaining volleyball from elite powerhouses inside Petit Stade. The Eastern-based club, Kirehe VC, made its return to the top flight but faced a tough welcome from Police VC, suffering a hard-fought defeat. Meanwhile, Kepler WVC, who struggled against APR WVC last season, found no relief as their challenges continued. Times Sport takes a look at five key takeaways from week one of the league. ALSO READ: Dusenge leads Kepler to dream volleyball league start Gisagara VC’s reversed fortunes Vs EAUR October 27, 2024 will always stay in the minds of Gisagara VC when they were unexpectedly handed a defeat by East Africa University Rwanda (EAUR). The second match that opened the 2024/25 season saw Vincent Dusabimana’s squad stun the Southern Province giants again in four sets. Fast forward to the new season, Gisagara turned their fortunes around avenged against EAUR in a tie-break set (25-16, 25-9, 22-25, 16-25, 15-12), thanks to returning duo of Sylvestre Ndayisaba and Ronald Muvara. RP-Huye still searching for their first victory It is still difficult for RP-Huye College women’s team to register a win. The Huye-based club failed to win a single game, finishing bottom of the eight-team league in the regular season standings. In their opening challenge, RP-Huye were dominated by coach Christian Hatuminana’s Police WVC, losing in straight sets (25-12, 25-16, 25-16). However, it was a tough start, facing the defending league champions in their first match. ALSO READ: Which transfers could shape 2025/26 volleyball season? Kepler WVC in a ‘quick fix’ situation Despite finishing fourth in their first league appearance last season, Kepler WVC, under coach Florien Siborurema, have yet to secure a win against APR WVC after four meetings. During the off-season, the club reinforced its squad with three Kenyan players including outside hitter Daisy Chepleting, Marion Hazel Omondi, and opposite hitter Violet Makuto in addition to former Police WVC players Jasiane Umwali and Hope Musaniwabo. However, even with these reinforcements, Kepler WVC could not overcome Peter Kamasa’s APR WVC who eventually won the match straight sets. Dusenge’s electric debut It was a bright start for Kepler VC’s opposite hitter Wicklif Dusenge, who made history by scoring both the opening point and set point of the 2025/26 season in the league opener against Rwanda Energy Group (REG). The win was, however, not an individual milestone as outside hitter David Evarist Neeke, who returned from injury, also impressed with a strong performance. Looking ahead to the next games of the season, there is hope that Kepler VC will show significant improvement compared to last season.
