Rwanda finished in fourth place at the 2023 Women's Africa Nations Volleyball Championship after losing 3-1 to host Cameroon in the third-place game on Thursday, August 24, at Yaoundé Multipurpose Sports Complex.
The Cameroonians faced some resistance from Rwanda in the first set which ended 25-21 in favor of Paulo de Tarso's ladies before the hosts turned the result around as they switched to "attack" mode while improving in receptions and defense. From there, the game became an almost one-sided affair as Cameroon went on to win three consecutive sets 25-15, 25-14 and 25-15.
Rwandan women looked tired in the last three sets despite starting the game brightly and Cameroon capitalized on it to dominate the game.
Despite the defeat, a fourth place finish remains the best performance that Rwanda has ever achieved in the women's category.
Elsewhere, Algeria beat Nigeria 3-1 (18-25, 13-25, 25-23 & 25-17) to finish in fifth place while Morocco dominated Uganda 3-0 (24-26, 25-27, 26-24 & 22-25) to finish in seventh place.
However, Mali ended the tourney in ninth place, Burkina Faso finished in 10th place while Burundi and Lesotho finished 11th and 12th respectively.
The 12 teams took part in the tournament including hosts Cameroon, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Egypt, Kenya, Lesotho, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, Uganda and Rwanda.
Third place
Cameroon 3-1 Rwanda