Nigeria reach Africa Volleyball Champs q’finals

Nigeria have secured a place in the quarter-finals of the 2026 African Men’s Volleyball Nations Championship in Tunisia after battling back to defeat Algeria 3-2 in their final group game on Thursday, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The Zone 3 champions recovered from losing the first and third sets to prevail 23-25, 25-19, 21-25, 25-20, 15-12 in a five-set contest.

The victory earned Nigeria a quarter-final ticket and further underlined their resilience in the tournament, with coach Ryan Masajedi praising the players for their response after twice falling behind.

“I am impressed with the way the players picked up after losing the first set. The set was in our hands but the Algerians were lucky it went in their favour,” the Japanese coach said.

“The players have once again shown that they can perform under any circumstances and they picked up after the first set and we ended winning the match.”

Nigeria started strongly but Algeria edged the opening set 25-23. The Nigerians responded in the second, winning 25-19, before the North Africans regained the advantage with a 25-21 victory in the third.

The Zone 3 champions refused to surrender, taking the fourth set 25-20 to force a deciding tie-break, which they won 15-12 to complete the comeback.

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Masajedi said the victory was important after Nigeria’s opening win over Chad, adding that the players had shown their first result was not a fluke.

“We started the tournament playing Chad and the victory against Algeria has cemented us amongst the favourites at the Nations Championship,” he said.

Nigeria had opened their campaign on Wednesday with a 3-0 victory over Chad, winning 25-17, 25-17 and 25-16.

The team are competing in Tunisia with the targets of securing the continent’s sole ticket to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and qualifying for the 2027 FIVB World Championship.

With their quarter-final place secured, Masajedi urged the players not to be carried away by the victory and to begin preparations for their next opponent.

He also thanked Nigerians back home for their prayers, support and encouragement throughout the championship, urging them to continue believing in the team as they pursue their targets.