Nigeria Under- 21 Men’s Volleyball Team, on Monday defeated Morocco 3-0 in their first match at the ongoing 2022 African Under 21 Men’s Nations Volleyball Championship in Tunisia.
They defeated their counterparts Morocco in a straight set (25-12, 25-16, 25-20) to make the score 3-0 in Tunis.
Nigeria sent a strong signal in the first set leading 7-0 before Morocco got a point off the West African side.
They pummelled the North African side 25-12 with 13 points difference in the first set.
The North African side gave their best in the second and third set but Nigeria overcame them in style in the second set 25-16 and in the third set 25-20.
Nigeria’s team coach, Sani Mohammed, said the target of the team was to qualify for the 2023 FIVB U21 Men’s World Championship.
“The team will not be carried away with the win against Morocco. The win is an indication that the team is ready to take on other teams in the Championships.
“Gambia is a familiar team; Nigeria played against them at the Under 19 African Championships and they were strong team to beat.
“We have to beat Gambia and the host Tunisia to top our group or probably place second,” he said.
The Captain of Nigeria Under 21 Men’s Team, Michael Abari gave an assurance that the team would defeat their next opponent in their second game.
“We know that Gambia have a strong team, this is not the first time we are meeting them and we have defeated them before.
“We will definitely defeat them in our next match on Tuesday, our next match will be victorious,” he said.
Nigeria is grouped along side with Morocco, Gambia and the host Tunisia.
Nigeria will meet Gambia on Tuesday. They will play Tunisia on their third match on Wednesday.
Eight countries: Morocco, Nigeria, Gambia, Egypt, Cameroon, Rwanda, Libya and the host Tunisia are participating in the Championships.
The 2022 Under 21 African Volleyball championship will start on Aug.13 and expected to end on 23 in Tunis, Tunisia.