The 2017 Men’s African Volleyball Championship is being held in Cairo, Egypt at the Cairo Stadium Indoor Halls Complex. This tournament is also acting as the final round of qualifying for the Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB) for the 2018 FIVB Men’s World Championship to be held in Italy and Bulgaria. The top three finishers will be the African representatives at the World Championships.
17 teams announced that they were participating, but only 14 are playingin Egypt. The 14 teams were split into 4 pools. Pool A had three teams, DR Congo-Kinshasa (50 FIVB ranking as of July 7, 2017), Egypt (13) and Niger (72). Pool B had four teams, Ghana (95), Kenya (50), Libya (118) and Tunisia (24). Pool C had three teams Cameroon (30), Morocco (95) and Nigeria (72). Lastly in Pool D with four teams, Algeria (41), Botswana (66), Chad (95) and Rwanda (66). The top two teams in their pools will advance to the championship quarterfinals, while the remaining teams will be playing for 9th through 14th places. The championship quarterfinals are single elimination with the winners advancing to the semifinals and the losers playing for 5th to 8th place. The semifinal winners will book their tickets to Italy/Bulgaria, while the losers will play for the final berth in the 3rd place match.
Nigeria was scheduled to play Cameroon on the first day of play in Pool C on Sunday the 22nd. However, they had plane difficulty and could not arrive in time for the match. The CAVB moved the match to the 25th, which is a scheduled rest day for all of the teams. Cameroon and Nigeria will therefore not have a rest day compared to the other teams.
In Pool A, Egypt dominated in their two matches against Niger and DR Congo, sweeping them both 3-0 and clinching 1st in the pool. The winner of Niger vs. DR Congo will advance to the quarterfinals.
In Pool B, Tunisia had to come from a 2-1 set deficit against Libya in their first match to win in five sets. Ghana swept Kenya in their first match 3-0. Libya upset the Ghanaians in 5 sets, also coming back from a 2-1 set deficit. Tunisia had little difficulty in their match against Kenya, which eliminated the Kenyans from the World Championships. In the final day, Tunisia with 2 set wins would all but guarantee their berth in the quarterfinals. Ghana needs to win in less than five sets or have Libya lose to clinch their spot. Libya must win to have a chance. A 4-set Tunisia-Ghana match with a Libya win will put them in the quarterfinals. There is a possibility for a 3-way tie at 2 wins, 6 points, and 8-5 sets won-lost, which would then go to points ratio to decide the quarterfinalists.
In Pool C, Cameroon opened play for the group today with a hard fought 3-1 win over Morocco. If Nigeria beats Morocco on the 24th, Cameroon and Nigeria both make the quarterfinals. While a Morocco win means that the postponed match from the 22nd will be the decider for the quarterfinalists.
In Pool D, Algeria and Rwanda have swept both of their matches against Chad and Botswana 3-0 and have guaranteed their spots in the quarterfinals. The winner of the Algeria vs. Rwanda match will face the winner of Niger vs. DR Congo, while the loser will face Egypt in the quarterfinals.
Results Day 1, October 22, 2017
Pool A Egypt 3-0 Niger (25-10, 25-6, 25-12)
Pool B Ghana 3-0 Kenya (25-16, 26-24, 25-16)
Pool B Tunisia 3-2 Libya (25-19, 20-25, 20-25, 25-15, 15-7)
Pool D Rwanda 3-0 Chad (25-20, 25-21, 25-15)
Pool D Algeria 3-0 Botswana (25-15, 25-13, 25-19)
Results Day 2, October 23, 2017
Pool A Egypt 3-0 DR Congo (25-14, 25-18, 25-11)
Pool B Libya 3-2 Ghana (25-22, 21-25, 23-25, 25-16, 15-10)
Pool B Tunisia 3-0 Kenya (25-16, 25-19, 25-22)
Pool C Cameroon 3-1 Morocco (24-26, 25-23, 25-23, 25-19)
Pool D Algeria 3-0 Chad (25-15, 25-13, 25-19)
Pool D Rwanda 3-0 Botswana (25-19, 25-18, 25-17)
Standings after Day 2
Team, Points, Wins-Losses, Sets Won-Sets Lost
Pool A
- Egypt 6, 2-0, 6-0 * Clinched Quarterfinal Berth
- DR Congo-Kinshasa 0, 0-1, 0-3 ^ Better points ratio
- Niger 0, 0-1, 0-3
Pool B
- Tunisia 5, 2-0, 5-2
- Ghana 4, 1-1, 5-3
- Libya 3, 1-1, 5-5
- Kenya 0, 0-2, 0-6
Pool C
- Cameroon 3, 1-0, 3-1
- Nigeria 0, 0-0, 0-0
- Morocco 0, 0-1, 1-3
Pool D
- Algeria 6, 2-0, 6-0 * Clinched Quarterfinal Berth ^ Better points ratio
- Rwanda 6, 2-0, 6-0 * Clinched Quarterfinal Berth
- Chad 0, 0-2, 0-6 ^ Better points ratio
- Botswana 0, 0-2, 0-6
Schedule for Day 3, October 24, 2017
Pool A Niger vs. DR Congo-Kinshasa
Pool B Ghana vs. Tunisia, Kenya vs. Libya
Pool C Nigeria vs. Morocco
Pool D Rwanda vs. Algeria, Chad vs. Botswana
Schedule for Day 4, October 25, 2017
Pool C Cameroon vs. Nigeria
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