Nigeria U21 teams have qualified for the semifinals of the ongoing Zone 3 U21 Beach Volleyball Championship in Cotonou, Benin Republic.
The duo of Emenike Ezike and Emmanuel Udah (Nigeria boys), schooled Benin Republic 2-0 (21-4, 21-6) in their first match before taking Niger Republic to the cleaners 2-0 (21-11, 21-19) in their second match on Friday.
The Nigeria girls team, Happy Wushiland and Esther Mbah did not waste time to dispatch Benin Republic 2-0 (21-10, 21-9) in their first match and won their second match convincingly against Ghana 2-0 (21-14, 21-8).
The coach of Nigeria U21 beach volleyball team, John Iwerima expressed satisfaction over the performances of the team at the championship.
Iwerima said the players exhibited a high level of technicalities in each of their matches.
He said, “I am happy over the performances of each of the players; they are hungry for wins and have shown to the world that they want to win the championship.
“If you look at the matches, you will see that players did not give their opponent chances to express themselves. The players showed a high level of technicality in their two matches. I strongly believe that if these players are given more playing time together, we will have a formidable beach volleyball junior team.”
Speaking from Cotonou, the President of Nigeria Volleyball Federation, Engineer Musa Nimrod praised the team for making Nigeria proud in the group stages.
The Secretary General of Confederation of Africa Volleyball (CAVB) Zone 3 said, “I watched the team play and I must confess that they have shown much promise. We are not going to put pressure on the team and the coaches; I believe that they will emerge victorious.”
The Nigeria boys and girls team will face Liberia in their last group stage matches on Saturday.