Nigeria’s women’s Volleyball team won a silver medal at the just-concluded 2023 CAVB U21 Beach Volleyball Championship in Morocco on Wednesday.
The host country, Morocco beat Nigeria 2-1 (13-21, 21-15, 18-16) in an intense match watched by a mammoth crowd at the Beach Resort in Casablanca.
Nigeria started the first set on a bright note, beating Morocco 21-13 points in less than 20 minutes of play.
However, Morocco mobilised their home fans, whose overwhelming roaring was instrumental in rousing them to their victory in the second set.
In the third set, Morocco led Nigeria till the 14th point before Nigeria got two crucial points to tie at 14 -14 points apiece.
Nigeria temporarily led at 16 -15 points before Morocco picked up three points to emerge Champions of the women’s category.
The result means Nigeria’s women’s Volleyball team have now qualified for the 2023 World Championship.
Speaking after the game, Nigeria’s head coach for the tournament, John Iwerima, showered encomiums on his players despite their inability to lift the title.
Iwerima said, “I am so proud of the girls, to come in and play like we did tonight, not only against the Moroccans but the crowd as well.
“We had every opportunity to get it done. Unfortunately, we couldn’t quite get it done.
“The chemistry together is unbelievable. As long as we have that, we can beat anybody shortly.”
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s men’s Beach volleyball team finished fifth at the just-concluded 2023 CAVB U21 Beach Volleyball Championship.
This means that both teams [Men and Women] have qualified for the 2023 FIVB U21 World Beach Volleyball Championship in Thailand in November.
