Nigeria coach praises team spirit after DR Congo comeback

Nigeria’s women’s volleyball team turned a likely defeat into a 3-2 victory over the Democratic Republic of Congo in Nairobi. The comeback came in the 9th-12th classification match at the 2026 African Women’s Volleyball Championship.

Nigeria lost the opening sets 25-20 and 25-22, leaving the team two sets from defeat. The players responded by taking the third set 25-21, then levelled the match with a dominant 25-13 win in the fourth.

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I feel so great, and I’m happy to be a Nigerian. We never say die.

The deciding set remained close, but Nigeria held its nerve to win 15-13. Head coach Elishama Elam praised the team’s refusal to give up and linked the recovery to determination and faith.

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We give God all the glory because, obviously, this is the Nigerian spirit that keeps us going. We thank God because He did it for us.

“I feel so great, and I’m happy to be a Nigerian. We never say die,” Elam said. He added, “We give God all the glory because, obviously, this is the Nigerian spirit that keeps us going. We thank God because He did it for us.”

Elam warned the players not to relax before their final classification match. “We will approach it with the same determination. Since it is going to be our last match, we will ensure that we give the last drop of our sweat on this court. We will give everything we have,” he said.

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We will approach it with the same determination. Since it is going to be our last match, we will ensure that we give the last drop of our sweat on this court. We will give everything we have.