VOLLEYBALL is among the top performing and successful sports disciplines in Rwanda. It has also been commended for using homegrown players, unlike other disciplines that rely so much on foreign players to succeed.

Only last year, four national volleyball teams participated in four different World Championships namely; U-19 boys’ team, U-21 boys’ team and U-23 men’s and women’s beach volleyball teams.

Saturday Sport magazine interviewed  Charlotte Nzayisenga, one of the country’s current stars in women’s volleyball. The youngster features for league side Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) Volleyball Club.

Nzayisenga helped RRA to dethrone archrivals APR as the national league champions for the current season and she is also a key player for the national beach volleyball team.

Early days

As a child, Nzayisenga never thought she would become the star volleyball player she is today until she joined secondary school at APEGI Rwanza where the sport was the most popular.

 "I used to love and follow football more than volleyball. I never thought I would turn into an obsessed volleyball player today,” Nzayisenga revealed to Saturday Sport in an interview.

She added: "I was very much into football more than volleyball but my primary school volleyball team coach, Jean Paul Tuyishime encouraged me to take the sport and I didn’t hesitate. Today, I look back and say, his advice changed my life.”

Secondary school success

When she was barely 15, she helped her then new school GS Indangaburezi to win the girls’ volleyball title in the national inter-schools championships in 2009. She also helped the school to retain the crown in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively.

In 2010, she was the key player for the school team that won their first ever regional post primary inter-schools FEASSSA Games title in Nakuru, Kenya. She has played in four FEASSSA Games edition (2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014).

"Abdulkharim Shumbusho, my coach at GS Indangaburenzi helped me improve my game and level of play. I owe him a lot, he’s the man behind the player I’m today,” she acknowledges.

Last month, Nzayisenga helped GS Indangaburezi reach the final of the regional schools’ games in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania but lost in a five-set thriller (3-2) to Kenya’s Kwanthanze.

From 2009 to 2013, Nzayisenga featured for Ruhango Volleyball Club and helped the team to finish as second runners-up in the national championships on three occasions.

2014

Earlier this year, Nzayisenga moved from Ruhango VC to Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) Volley ball Club, the first time she would play for a different side in the national league.

She says "When I joined Rwanda Revenue Authority, I was curious about what lay ahead during my first season in a different team with different players. However, it was also time for me to set new targets and ambitions for my future.”

Arriving at RRA, Nzayisenga did not disappoint, as she went on help her new employers to win four trophies including; Kayumba Memorial Tournament, Genocide Memorial Tournament, Uganda’s KAVC tournament and the league title.

Beach volleyball career

Nzayisenga officially started playing beach volleyball in December 2011 and it didn’t take her long to reach the top and become one of the country’s elites.

In June 2012, she alongside Denise Mutatsimpundu won the U-20 African Beach Volleyball Championship beating favourites South Africa in two sets (2-0) and qualified for the 2012 World Championships in Canada.

However, Canada denied VISAs to Rwanda as well as four other African countries, leaving only South Africa as the only team to represent the continent.

Last year in Mombasa, Kenya, Nzayisenga and Mutatsimpundu represented the country in the continental U-23 Championships and they won the tournament to qualify for 2013 World Championships in Poland where they finished 25th out of 32 countries. Germany beat Brazil in the final.

National teams

The national senior women’s team has not competed in any tournament for the last four years, which means Nzayisenga is yet to play for the country at the senior level. However, she featured at the junior and youth levels.

In March 2010, she was part of the youth team (U-17) that finished fourth at the African Championships, which was hosted and won by Egypt, who beat Tunisia in the final.

In September 2010, she was a key member of the junior, U-20 national team that competed at the African U-20 championships in Tunisia. Egypt again claimed the title after defeating Tunisia in the final with Rwanda claiming the fourth spot behind Algeria.

Future at RRA VC

Nzayisenga has signed a five-year contract with Rwanda Revenue Authority, a deal which will see her at the club until 2018 and says this will help her settle and concentrate on her career other than changing teams every single season.

"I’m still with Rwanda Revenue Authority for some time to come, I signed for five years and I will do my best to honor the contract. This will help me settle and concentrate on my career. However, I would also welcome an offer for a professional career abroad if an opportunity comes.”

Thanks to playing volleyball, Nzayisenga has been able to travel to many countries like Poland, Egypt, Tunisia, Madagascar, Togo, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, and Tanzania among others.