U-21 national team set for KAVC memorial tourney

RWANDA U-21 Volleyball national will compete in this year’s Kampala Amateur Volleyball Club Memorial Tournament slated for August as away of preparing for the upcoming World Championships.Head coach Paul Bitok hopes the tournament will help give exposure to his players who are bidding to stage a successful debut in the 2013 FIVB Men’s U21 World Championship set for August 22 to September 1 in Ankara and Izmir, Turkey.“We will play in this tournament before going to the World Cup and we hope to use it to prepare ourselves ahead of the global event,” the former Kenyan international confirmed to Saturday Sport.He added; “Since almost all the top clubs in the region are expected to take part in the competition, I believe it’s a good platform for me to assess the level and standard of my players and gauge if we are indeed ready for the World Cup.” In the World Cup, Rwanda, Africa’s bronze medalists were drawn in Pool C alongside fellow African side Tunisia, Serbia, US and Canada, and the matches will be played in Ataturk Sports Hall in Izmir.African champions and silver medalists Egypt and Morocco were drawn together in Pool A alongside with hosts Turkey, China and India, while Pool B is comprised of Argentina, Iran, Japan, Mexico and Estonia.In Pool D, Russia will battle it out with Brazil, France, Venezuela and 2012 European champions Italy.