The women’s volleyball team from Nigeria took home a silver medal on Wednesday in Morocco at the 2023 CAVB U21 Beach Volleyball Championship.
Morocco, the host nation, defeated Nigeria 2-1 (13-21, 21-15, 18-16) in a thrilling encounter at the Beach Resort in Casablanca that was observed by a huge crowd.
In less than 20 minutes of play, Nigeria defeated Morocco 21–13 to get the first set off to a strong start.
However, Morocco energized their home crowd, and their ferocious yelling helped propel them to victory in the second set.
In the third set, Nigeria tied the match at 14 points each after Morocco had led till the 14th point.
Nigeria had a brief advantage of 16 to 15 points before Morocco gained three points and won the women’s division.
By virtue of the outcome, Nigeria’s women’s volleyball team has officially earned a spot in the 2023 World Championship.
Even though his team was unable to win the championship, Nigeria’s head coach for the competition, John Iwerima, praised his players after the game.
Iwerima said,
“I am so proud of the girls, to come in and play like we did tonight, not only against the Moroccans but the crowd as well.
“We had every opportunity to get it done. Unfortunately, we couldn’t quite get it done.
“The chemistry together is unbelievable. As long as we have that, we can beat anybody shortly.”
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s men’s Beach volleyball team finished fifth at the just-concluded 2023 CAVB U21 Beach Volleyball Championship.
This means that both teams [Men and Women] have qualified for the 2023 FIVB U21 World Beach Volleyball Championship in Thailand in November.