Uganda’s female volleyball national side, the Lady Volleyball Cranes, lost their quarterfinal contest against Cameroon in straight sets.
The dream to reach the last four of the CAVB Women’s African Nations Championship in Kenya was cut short by a 3–0 (25–18, 20–25, 18–25) score line.
“We are going to play the classification games and, as a team, I think our target is to get a better position for a better seeding for the upcoming championships,” receiver-attacker Claire Najjuko told media.
Well, it was a painful defeat in the presence of former Lady Volleyball Cranes international Catherine Echoku, who was in the stands rallying behind the girls.
“I came to discover that Cameroon was a very normal team that we could beat, but we made too many unforced errors on our side that we gave them the game,” Lady Volleyball Cranes head coach Protus Soita noted.
He added, “Cameroon made only nine points in the first set and then all other points were errors from our play. I think what I should say is that my ladies came into the game when they were not mentally ready.”
The respect for the opponent decreased in the second set and Uganda took the lead at some point before losing the set 20–25.
“I kept on pushing them and encouraging them, but they could not believe in themselves. I think that calls on us now to look forward and try to work on their mental stability.”
Out of title contention, Uganda will be back in action against Algeria as they push to finish higher and gain more ranking points, which will be valuable in the future.
