By Amaechi Agbo
The Head Coach of Nigeria’s women’s volleyball team, Elishama Elam has praised his players despite their 3-0 defeat to hosts Kenya in the Round of 16 at the 2026 African Senior Nations Volleyball Championship in Nairobi on Saturday, August 29.
The West African side put up a strong fight in the opening set, but defending champions Kenya eventually secured a 25-21 victory.
Kenya received a major boat from their fans as they stepped up their performance in the second set to win 25-17 before completing the victory with a 25-15 triumph in the third set.
Despite the defeat, Elam insisted that his players gave a good account of themselves against the Malkia Strikers.
The COAS Spikers coach said the national team is undergoing a rebuilding process and expressed optimism that the team would produce better results in the near future.
He said: “We gave a good fight. They really played what they deserved. We gave the Kenyans a run for their money. It was not just a pushover match. It was a good fight.
“Being a young team that we are trying to build, by the next time we meet, I think the story will not be like this.”
Elam explained that the technical crew would analyse the team’s mistakes against Kenya and work on them ahead of their classification matches.
He added that the team would fight to avoid finishing outside the top 10 at the championship.
Elam said: “If you look at the first set that we lost to the Kenyans 25-21, there were eight service errors. If we had converted only four of them, you can see that the scoreline would have been different.
“We are going to prepare for the classification match now. We hope to finish in the ninth or 10th position, by the special grace of God.”
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