Nigeria have secured their spot in the quarter-finals of the 2026 African Men's Volleyball Nations Championship in Tunisia, staging a dramatic comeback to edge Algeria 3-2 in a tense final group-stage clash on Thursday.
The Zone 3 champions twice found themselves trailing in the match but refused to buckle, grinding out a five-set thriller that ended 23-25, 25-19, 21-25, 25-20, 15-12.
Algeria drew first blood, narrowly clinching the opening set 25-23 despite Nigeria's bright start. The West Africans hit back immediately, dominating the second set 25-19 to restore parity.
Algeria then reclaimed the advantage with a 25-21 win in the third set, putting Nigeria in a must-win situation heading into the final two sets.
Rising to the occasion, Nigeria leveled matters with a commanding 25-20 victory in the fourth set, setting up a winner-takes-all fifth set. With qualification for the African Volleyball Championship knockout stage on the line, the Nigerian side kept their nerve to close out the match 15-12.
Nigeria's Japanese head coach, Ryan Masajedi, commended his squad's ability to regroup after a slow start.
"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," Masajedi said.
He further highlighted the team's resilience as a defining trait heading into the knockout rounds.
"The players have once again shown that they can perform under any circumstances and they picked up after the first set and we ended up winning the match," he added.
The hard-fought win over Algeria hands Nigeria valuable momentum as they turn their attention to the quarter-final stage of the 2026 African Men's Volleyball Nations Championship in Tunisia.
No comments: