National youth volleyball male team coach Jean Marie Nsengiyumva expects his side to face an uphill task in this year's Africa Youth Championship slated for January 21 to February 1 in Algeria.

Nsengiyumva has already set his team a target of finishing in the top four but admits it will be tough for his young troops in a tournament that brings together the best youth teams on the continent.

"It will be a hard competition for the boys, who are playing at this level for the first time but we will go there with the right mentality, hoping to cause one or two upsets if we are to achieve our target," the former national team setter told The New Times on Wednesday.

Rwanda's boys and girls teams qualified after the others countries of Zone V withdrew from the CAVB Zone V qualifiers, which had been scheduled for this month in Kigali.

"The boys are gaining confidence from training together and I am sure they'll be ready for the African Championship, we really need to do well in this competition," stated the Kigali Volleyball Club trainer.

"We need a couple of warm up games ahead of the event which can help us do well in the tournament," he added.

The team will leave Kigali on January 15 for Kenya where they will to play a couple of warm-up matches before proceeding to Algeria on a yet to be confirmed date.