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By: Ebenezer Bajela.
Nigeria will face 2021 silver medallists Kenya in the quarter-finals of the 2023 African Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship in Yaounde, Cameroon on Tuesday (today).
Nigeria lost to Algeria 3-2 (16-25, 18-25, 25-23, 26-24, 6-15) in their last group stage match at the Yaounde multi-purpose sports hall on Sunday and recorded two wins against Mali and Burundi as well as three losses ro Cameroon, Egypt and Algeria in the group stage.
The head coach of Nigeria women’s volleyball team, Samuel Ajayi, who admitted that losing the fifth set to Algeria was painful, said all attention would be shifted to the quarter-finals of the championship as his side faces silver medallists at the 2019 African Championship in Rwanda.
He said, “I am not happy with our loss against Algeria in the last group stage match. My players were not impressive in the first and second sets but got their rhythm in the third and fourth sets. I expected my players to win their fifth set but we made too many errors, allowing the Algerians to take the first four points.
“All attention has been shifted to the quarter-finals and we are playing against one of the best teams in the championship. Kenya were unbeaten in their group stage matches and are very experienced with proper exposure.
“Nigeria will not respect Kenya on the court when both teams meet on Tuesday (today); this might be our chance to make a huge statement in the championship.