Rwanda put Wednesday’s defeat against Kenya aside and put up a spirited comeback on Thursday to dispatch Lesotho with three straight sets (25-4, 25-11 and 25-7) at Yaoundé Multipurpose Sports Complex to register their first win in the ongoing African Women Nations Volleyball Championship. Lesotho won the opening point, but Rwanda recovered from the early lead to go ahead with 2-1 before stretching the lead to 18-3 and went on to win the set 25-4. Paulo de Tarso’s ladies have also been dominant in the second which they were leading before Lesotho claimed two back-to-back points from the attack that ended up on the net, to reduce Rwanda's lead to 14–5. Getting two points, Rwanda came back strong and extended the lead to 19–8, forcing their pool opponents to suffer 25-11. In the third set, Lesotho claimed the opening points against a much-changed Rwandan side after De Tarso made five changes in the process. Rwanda kept marching and resilient as they pegged their opponents back to win the third set 25-7. “The only reaction is to be happy,” De Tarso told Times Sport after the game. “No matter who is there...but, for us, it is important to have victory, to make points,” he added. Rwanda will be looking to build on Lesotho win when they face Burkina Faso on Friday before taking on neighbors Uganda on Saturday. They will wind up the group matches against Morocco on Sunday. A total of 12 teams are competing in the tournament. They include hosts Cameroon, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Egypt, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Uganda and Rwanda. Cameroon are defending champions after beating Kenya in the final 3-1 sets (25-21, 25-23, 15 -25 and 25-23) in Kigali in 2021.
