Nigeria hits Niger Republic to open 2026 African Nations Cup Volleyball Qualifiers with a win

By Maxwell Kumoye and Oluwatobiloba Zeal-Adepetu Kumoye

Nigeria's men's volleyball team made a winning start to their campaign at the 2026 African Nations Cup Zone 3 Qualifiers, hitting Niger Republic 3-1 on Tuesday.

Nigeria claimed the opening set 25-22 before Niger Republic fought back to level the contest with a 25-19 victory in the second set.

Coach Taiwo Oladipupo's side, however, showed resilience to regain control, edging the third set 25-23 before producing a dominant display in the fourth set to seal the match 25-9.

Reacting to the victory, head coach Taiwo Oladipupo expressed delight with his team's performance while praising the players for their response after dropping the second set.

"First of all, I thank Almighty God for giving us our first win of the tournament. I'm very happy with the result. The boys lost the second set, but they responded brilliantly by winning the third and fourth sets," Oladipupo said.

The coach acknowledged that there were areas requiring improvement but insisted the team would learn from its mistakes ahead of the next match.

"We will go back and work on the areas where we made mistakes. This is a game of perseverance, and we know exactly what happened. We will correct those errors and come back stronger," he added.

Nigeria's attention now shifts to a crucial encounter against host nation Côte d'Ivoire on Wednesday.

Despite facing the tournament hosts, Oladipupo maintained that his team's objective remains unchanged.

"Whether they are the hosts or not, our approach remains the same. We are going all out to play whoever comes our way. Our objective is simple, to secure the three points and move on, and that's exactly what we will be aiming for."

The victory gives Nigeria an important early boost as they continue their quest for qualification from the Zone 3 tournament.

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