By Victor Kanayo
Team Nigeria at the the just concluded 2023 CAVB U21 Beach Volleyball Championship in Morocco finished on a good note, with both men and women qualifying for 2023 World Championship.
Specifically, the women team settled for a silver medal, while men placed 5th overall.
Women Final Decider
Host Morocco beat Nigeria 2-1 (13-21, 21-15, 18-16) in a highly intense match at the beach resort in Casablanca in the women final.
Nigeria started the first set on a bright note beating the Host 21 to 13 points in less than 20 minutes of play. Host Morocco mobilised fans who were instrumental 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 to 14 points. Nigeria led by 16 to 15 points before Morocco picked three points to emerge in the Champions of the women’s category.
Thereafter, Nigeria’s head coach for the tournament, John Iwerima, showered encomium on his players despite their inability to lift the title.
He said the girls still have the opportunity of ruling the world if the pair are retained.
The President of Nigeria Volleyball Federation, Engineer Musa Nimrod, celebrated the beach volleyball team for their impressive outing.
Nimrod said the girls demonstrated tenacity and put up a good fight in the match against Morocco having stretched the game into the third set.
He said, “I said earlier that the girls have all it takes to stand out at the African Beach Volleyball Championship. Indeed, their performance against the Moroccans confirmed this.
“Our girls flew the flag of Nigeria beautifully high with their sterling performance against all their opponents. They put up a good fight in the final and they are worth every celebration.”
The 2023 FIVB U21 World Beach Volleyball Championship will take place in Thailand in November.
