Nigeria lose to Algeria in opening game

The Nigerian junior women’s volleyball team on Wednesday lost 1-3 to Algeria in the opening match of the 14th African Nations Junior Women Volleyball Championship in Abuja. The first set of the game saw the Nigerian side trailing behind for long periods and it ended 23-25 but they had rallied for a comeback in the second set to win 27-25 and draw level. But Algeria opened a wide lead in the third set to win 25-16, and maintained their lead with a commanding dominance in the fourth set for a 25-21 win.
The championship is taking place in the Indoor Sports Hall of Package B of the Abuja National Stadium.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the championship, which is an under-19 event, is a qualifier for the 17th Women’s Under-20 World Championship. The three-day African championship kicked off on Wednesday with three teams from Nigeria, Algeria and Egypt, instead of the seven teams expected to participate.
The other countries whose teams were not present are Tunisia, Kenya, Rwanda and Congo Democratic Republic.
NAN reports that the championship continued yesterday with Nigeria taking on Egypt in the second match, while Algeria will face Egypt today to round off the competition.
The first two teams in the competition will qualify for the World Championship scheduled for between June 21 and June 30 in Brno, the Czech Republic