It was a battle well fought for the Rwanda ladies after ending their World Championships expedition in 15th place.
Just like any other team that ventures in competition, Rwanda came into the U20 Volleyball World Championships to win. This was not the case for the ladies from the country of a thousand hills as they didn’t register a single win.
However, this does not go as a deterioration but rather a triumph for the team that had the youngest player in the tournament, libero Yvonne Mugwaneza. Preparing a national team for an event at an international level takes quite a lot of work and later on during this pandemic.
A big Kudos to the Rwanda volleyball governing body FRVB for giving the young ladies an opportunity to represent their nation. Playing at this level is yet another huge step at building the team that will later in the future play at the senior level.
Rwanda played their closing match against co-host Belgium who was a better team for the entire match ending 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 25-13). “It was a good match. We came to win, but it did not happen,” said Albertine Uwiringiyimana, middle blocker, and captain of Rwanda.
Rwanda played against stronger opponents in this competition and though they gave away all encounters, they flourished through the experience picked up. “Playing against such strong teams, learning from their experience, this is a once in a lifetime experience that I am enjoying to the fullest!” said libero Yvonne Mugwaneza.
“I started training volleyball three years ago, watching my sister playing it. It happened also to a lot of my teammates – we look up to our elder siblings who play the sport, and learn from them,” Yvonne said.
A brighter future surely comes ahead for the ladies of this young Rwanda team and one would not be surprised to see again playing at an even more professional level.
Rwanda finished 15th ahead of Puerto Rico, which pulled out before the start of the competition. Belgium will face Thailand to battle for 13th place.
