Rabat – Morocco’s volleyball national team defeated Kenya (3-1) on the night of September 9 in the Kigali Arena during the second round of Group D. A second consecutive victory for the Atlas Lions allowed them to qualify for the quarter-finals of the African Volleyball Championship.
The Moroccan national squad experienced a bad start during the opening set against the well-organized Kenyan team, losing with a score of 19-25. However, the Moroccan group came back to secure a well-deserved win in the second set with a 25-22 score. Since then, they gained a mental advantage over their opponents, resulting in the Lions’ domination of the third and fourth sets, with a score of 25-17 and 25-21, respectively.
After securing a spot to the quarter-finals, the Atlas Lions will compete with the Egyptian team for the top spot in the group. Morocco, coached by Nikola Matijasevic, now leads the group with 6 points ahead of Egypt (4 points), hours before its match against the Egyptian team on September 10.
The Pharaohs, on their part, defeated the Tanzanian squad (3-0). After a surprising defeat against Kenya in the first round of the tournament, the Egyptians have resurrected their chances of progressing to the next round thanks to this victory.
After three days of competition, six teams have secured their spots in the quarter-finals: Morocco, Tunisia (reigning champions), Cameroon, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the host country Rwanda.
On the sidelines of the event, the president of the Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB), Bouchra Hajij, was received by the Rwandan president, Paul Kagame.
A meeting was held during which the Rwandan President and Bouchra Hajij discussed the development of volleyball in Africa, as well as the strategies to be adopted to strengthen Africa’s participation in international sporting events.
