Nigeria’s journey in the 2023 African Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship has reached a crucial juncture as they are set to face Kenya in the Quarter-finals.

In their last group stage match, Nigeria faced Algeria in a closely contested battle that ended with 2-3 (16-25, 18-25, 25-23, 26-24, 6-15) in favor of the North Africans.

Despite this loss, Nigeria had previously secured two victories against Mali and Burundi. They also faced defeats against host nation Cameroon as well as Egypt, and Mali in the group stage.

Samuel Ajayi, the head coach of Team Nigeria, was disappointed with decisive fifth set capitulation against Algeria.

However, with the quarterfinals on the horizon, the team is determined to shift their focus and prepare for a crucial match against Kenya.

He said, “I am not happy with our loss against Algeria in the last group stage match.”

“My players were not impressive in the first and second set but got their rhythm in the third and fourth set. I expected my players to win their fifth set but we made too many errors allowing the Algerians to take the first four points.”

“All attention has been shifted to the quarterfinals and we are playing one of the best teams in the championship. Kenya were unbeaten in their group stage matches and are very experienced with proper exposure.

“Nigeria will not respect Kenya on the court when both teams meet on Tuesday; this might be our chance to make a huge statement in the championship.”

This Quarter-final clash holds added significance as Nigeria faces a team that secured silver medal at the 2019 African Championship in Rwanda.