Wednesday
Kenya v Rwanda 1PM
Rwanda women volleyball national team has a daunting task to overcome 2021 African Nations Championship runners up Kenya when the pair face off in the opening game of the 2023 African Volleyball Championship which officially begins on Wednesday in Yaoundé Multipurpose Sports Complex.
Paulo de Tarso’s side was drawn in Group B alongside Kenya, Morocco, Uganda, Burkina Faso and Lesotho.
The team will, after Kenya, take on Lesotho next on Thursday, August 17 and Burkina Faso on Friday, August 18, before playing East African neighbours Uganda on Saturday, August 19. They will wind up the group stage matches against Morocco on Sunday, August 20.
Reacting to the draw, De Traso said, "We have the quality, physical preparations and now we need to get the players mentally ready for these matches and we will go into every game by giving all the best.”
"Players want to prove that they can do better and we know they can do better. Everything is possible. We will take the game by game. We are optimistic, we want to play better volleyball,” he added
A total of 12 teams have confirmed their participation in the tournament. They include hosts Cameroon, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Egypt, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Uganda and Rwanda.
Meanwhile, five teams including Tunisia, DR Congo and Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Zambia pulled out of the competition at the last minute.
The Indomitable Lionesses de Cameroon are defending champions.
Group stages
Group A: Cameron, Nigeria, Burundi, Mali, Algeria and Egypt
Group B: Kenya, Morocco, Rwanda, Uganda, Burkina Faso and Lesotho