By Our Correspondent

Nigeria lost Egypt 0-3 (24-26, 18-25, 15-25) in the opening match of the 2023 Girl’s U17 African Nations Volleyball Championship on Saturday.

The 2023 Girl’s U-17 African Nations Volleyball Championship is taking place at the indoor sports hall of Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja.

Nigeria team began the first set strong, giving the Egyptians a good fight. They led by 24-23 points with the Egypt technical crew calling for a technical time out. Upon resumption, the Egyptian levelled up 24 to 24 points, took the next two points and won the set by 26 to 24 points.

The Egyptian team came out stronger in the second and third sets beating Nigeria 25 to 18 points and 25 to 15 points.

Speaking after the encounter, the head coach of Nigeria U17 Girl’s, Sunday Akapson told newsmen that the players gave their best during the match.

The 2003 All African Games silver medallist said the player lost concentrate during a crucial period in the first set.

He said, “We need to re-strategise and plan for our next game against Cameroon.They girls lost the game because they were not concentrating.

“These are young players we are building for future purposes and I believe they will do well in their next match”, he said.

Meanwhile, the coach of Egypt U17 Girls, Mamr Makhlouif said his team is in Nigeria to lift the trophy adding that Nigeria is his second home.

Makhlouif said Egypt wants to represent Nigeria at the World Championship and will go all out against Cameroon.

He said, “We want to represent Africa at the U17 World Championship and we are in Nigeria to achieve that purpose.

“We are going to win our next match against Cameroon on Sunday, we just have to encourage the girls to put more effort into their next game,” he said.

Egypt will face Cameroon on Sunday while Nigeria will face Cameroon on Monday.