African Men’s Volleyball Championship 2026: Nigeria seals ticket to quarter-finals

Nigeria has qualified for the quarter-finals of the 2026 African Men’s Volleyball Championship in Tunisia.

Nigeria defeated Algeria in a five-set thriller (23-25, 25-19, 21-25, 25-20, 15-12) in their final group stage match on Thursday, September 17.

The Zone 3 champions started the first set strong by taking the lead, but the North African team took over and won 25-23 points.

Nigeria came out strong in the second set, sending Algeria ahead and securing a vital 25-19 points before falling asleep in the third set which ended in favor of the North African team by 25-21 points.

The sub-Saharan team staged another comeback to take the fourth set to 25-20 points before winning the play-off by 15-12 points.

An elated coach of the Nigeria men’s team, Ryan Masajedi hailed the resilient spirit of the players during the vital match.

Masajedi explained that Nigeria needed to win the match and avoid struggling in the round of 16.

He added that the players showed that winning against Chad was not a fluke and the result of hard work.

The Japanese coach said: “I’m impressed with the way the players recovered after losing the first set. The set was ours but the Algerians were lucky that it went their way.”

“The players demonstrated once again that they can perform well in all circumstances and they recovered after the first set and in the end we won the match.

“We started the tournament by playing against Chad and the victory against Algeria consolidated us among the favorites for the Nations Championship”.

He urged the players not to get carried away with victory once again, urging them to prepare for their next opponent.

Masajedi applauded Nigrins at home for their prayers, support and words of encouragement during the championship.