Uganda Volleyball teams made a brilliant comeback at the NSSF KAVC International Volleyball tournament over the weekend. Uganda’s KAVC beat Rwanda National team Gisagara VC to clinch the men’s 2018 trophy while Ndejje University tussled it out with Nkumba University and matched to victory taking the Women’s Trophy.
The tournament, which is billed to be the biggest and best so far, attracted a full house at Lugogo Sports Arena. Fans were packed to the rafters to support the Uganda KAVC giants who were inching to snatch the trophy away from Rwanda. Rwandan men’s teams have taken the trophy for 3 consecutive years since 2015, while the Rwandan women’s teams have dominated the championship since 2014. So it was total comeback for team Uganda to clinch both trophies.
By the second set, Rwanda’s Gisagara was in the lead with 2-0 thanks to Uganda born and KAVC trained Ivan Ongom who now plays for the Rwanda National Team. But Uganda’s Daudi Okello restored the teams hopes when he made some significant scores which brought KAVC neck and neck with their competitors bring the team on a 2-2 tie. By this time, the Ugandan fans whose hope had waned woke up, got on their feet and gunned for a victory in the 5th deciding set. The battle lines were drawn. The Rwandan boys had come to win, they took the lead with 6 points ahead. Ugandan fans prayed under their breathe. Cuthbert Malinga, Mathew Mwenyi and Gabriel Yikita brought their best game to the court. Point by point, KAVC made a second comeback, caught up with Gisaraga, took the lead and spiked their way to victory, sending the Ugandan fans into a frenzy. By the end of the game, the scoreboard read 3-2 (17-25, 19-25, 25-20, 25-16, 17-15). Winning teams took home trophies and cash prize of 1000 dollars.
