Rwandan Guma Lawrence seen in action against Botswana on Monday
Rwanda extended their good run at the 2017 African Volleyball Confederation (CAVB) Africa men’s championship as they sealed a quarter final slot following their second win over Botswana 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-17) in a crucial Pool D played on Monday evening at Cairo Stadium Complex in Egypt.
The win improved Rwanda’s win- loss ratio to 1-1, guaranteeing them a place in the quarter final, while Botswana dropped to 0-2.
Rwanda dominated the match from the start till the end without leaving a chance for Botswana to come back and succeeded to keep their rhythm till straight sets wins.
This is Rwanda’s second win at the tournament following their opening victory over Chad where they won convincingly 3-0 (25-20, 25-21 25-15).
In another Pool D match, Algeria beat Chad 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, and 25-19). The Algerians started the match with the main line up to win comfortable the first and second sets before the coach made substitutions and continued their lead to win in straight sets.
In Pool B, Tunisia overpowered Kenya to secure their ticket to quarter stage ticket as they captured their second win edging Kenya 3-0 (25-16, 25-19, 25-22).
The North Africans secure a second round ticket after they improved their win- loss ratio to 2-0, while Kenya dropped to 0-2.
The Tunisian team controlled the match through the efficient service that disturbed the Kenyan reception and defense.
Still in Pool B, Libya fought for 2 hours to top the struggling Ghana team 3-2 (25-22, 21-25, 23-25, 25-16, and 15-10) in epic tiebreaker lasting for more than 2 hours of exciting action.
Libya started as the more stable side in both reception and backline defense to win the first set 25-22 after great effort. Ghana rebounded aggressively to win two sets with their strong attacker whom spikes were not tolerated by the Libyan defense to lead 2-1.
Libya came back with goods to win the fourth set after a great performance, before they steadily dominate the tiebreaker 15-10.
In Pool C, Cameroon fought powerfully to overcome Morocco 3-1 (24-26, 25-23, 25-23, 25-19).
The crucial moment of the match was when Cameroon led 23-19 in the first set and Morocco succeeded with frequent attacks to win the set 26-24. Afterwards Cameroon controlled the match and rebounded to win three sets using their skillful combinations.
Rwanda will be back to action on Wednesday when they face favourites Algeria in Pool D at 13:00 before Chad hosts Botswana at 17:00.
The top two teams in each of the preliminary Pool will qualify for the quarterfinal which will be the knockout stage- where the winner of Pool A will play runner up of Pool D, Pool D leaders face runner up of Pool A.
Leaders of Pool B will combat runner up of Pool C and head of Pool C meet runner up of Pool B.
The winners of the quarterfinal qualify for the semifinal and then the winners of this stage go through to the final.
The 2017 Men’s African championship doubles also as 2018 World Championship qualifiers where the top three African teams book their tickets to represent Africa in the FIVB Prestigious championship.
