As part of their imposing Group D finish, Rwanda on Tuesday thumped Senegal 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-17) at the ongoing men’s African Volleyball Championship in Cairo, Egypt.
The much-coveted victory propelled Rwanda to a second-place finish in Group D with six points after winning two games and losing one. Therefore, Rwanda will square off against Tanzania in the Round of 16.
Paulo De Tarso’s side came into this final group-stage contest full of confidence and desire to win, having lost their opener 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 26-24) to Morocco but winning their second matchup 3-1 (25-11, 25-11, 20-25, 26-24) over The Gambia.
“Senegal is not a tough team to claim that they had to beat us. We were favourites to defeat them and we did so, which is thrilling,” said Rwanda men’s team captain Wicklif Dusenge after their 3-0 win over Senegal.
Held at Cairo Stadium Indoor Halls Complex, Rwanda got off to a great start, defeating Senegal in the first set 25-21. De Tarso’s men retained their cool and stepped up their aggression against the Senegalese in the second and third sets, comfortably outscoring them 25-16 and 25-17 to seal a triumph in three straight sets.
“We came really prepared because we knew the match could be very dangerous for us. They have a very tall and aggressive team, but I think after having a little bit more time to prepare, analyze, and study the opponent, we really did a very good job today. We studied them a lot, and the main point was that they are a very strong team, but they commit a lot of mistakes,” Rwanda head coach Paulo De Tarso stated.
“It was the first time we really played as a team, and we need this to be unique. You can’t have individual players because it always kills the job.”
After finishing in second place, Rwanda men’s volleyball team will face their Tanzanian counterpart, who placed third after being thrashed by Tunisia 3-0 (10-25, 13-25, 17-25) in their final Group B match, in the competition’s round of 16. Morocco, who finished first in Group D with nine points after winning every game, will take on Mali, who placed last in Group B.
In Group C, Kenya coolly beat Ghana 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 16-25, 25-17, 15-11), whilst the two-time champions Cameroon were defeated by Libya 1-3 (25-27, 22-25, 25-20, 23-25). Libya placed first with nine points, Cameroon came in second with six points, while Kenya and Ghana finished third and fourth with two points and one point, respectively.
