National volleyball league champions, University of Kibungo Volleyball Club (UNK) have started training ahead of the upcoming Men's African Club Championship that will be held on March 15-28 in Tunis, Tunisia.

UNIK have made a slow start this season and before this weekend’s games, the Ngoma-based side were in sixth place in the league table with five points, three behind leaders Gisagara and IPRC-South after two rounds.

Dominique Ntawangundi’s team were looking to reduce the gap when they host(ed) University of Tourism Technology and Business Studies and Gisagara on Saturday.

On the continental front, Ntawangundi said they are looking for good performance for their first ever appearance in the Africa Club Championships. Last year, they missed the event due to the finance constraints.

"We’ve just started the season and we are not far from the top teams, so what we need to do is to keep working hard to raise our level of playing and looking forward to do well in the Africa Club Championships,” said Ntawangundi.

He added that: "Our preparations are going well so far and our aim is to keep the winning spirit from last season when we won all competitions. We will be up against the best teams in Africa, but we are confident in our ability.”

Besides the local league title, UNIK won the Genocide Memorial tourney, KAVC Memorial tournament staged in Kampala, Uganda, as well as the Carre d’AS competition.

UNIK will represent Rwanda in men’s category while Rwanda Revenue Authority will compete on the women’s tournament which will he staged in Carthage, Tunisia from April 5-18.

The Club Championships is considered one of the most attractive volleyball tournaments in Africa attracting best clubs from across the continent.

Last year, a record number of 42 teams graced the event with 24 clubs featuring for the men’s competition while 18 clubs participated in the women category. The competition was hosted in Cairo, Egypt. The winners of the two-week tournament will represent Africa at the 2017 women and Men’s Club World Championship. CAVB set February 28 as the final date for clubs to confirm their participation in the continental event.

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