Volleyball: Nigeria Breaks 16-Year-Jinx

Nigeria at the weekend defeated Ethiopia to qualify for the quarter-final of the ongoing 2021 African Men’s Senior Volleyball Nations Championship in Rwanda.
Usman Abdallah’s side had to work extra hard to get the better of their opponent with a 3-1 (25-20, 25-12, 32-34, 25-17) win in their last match of Pool B win.
The victory means Nigeria breaks a 16-year-jinx of failing to make it to the round of 16 of the volleyball nations championship.
Speaking after the game, Abdallah expressed satisfaction with his team’s display against the Ethiopians and added that the team hoped to do better this year than the previous years.
“It was a good performance from the team today, we played really well though it was a tough game from the Ethiopians,” Abdallah said after the game.
“I am happy we could deal with the danger they posed in the first set but they became more determined in the third set where they eventually won by 34-32 points.
“In 2019, Nigeria was missing at the African Nations Championship due to unseen circumstances; in 2017, we finished 13th position which was very poor. This time around, Nigeria wants to make a statement at this year’s edition.”