Defending champions booted Men’s Africa Club Volleyball tourney as hosts get finals berth
Espérance Sportive de Tunis finished with 68 points, while Al Ahly had 64, illustrating the fierce battle of this match
The 2025 CAVB Men’s Africa Club Volleyball Championships enters the finals tomorrow with defending champions Al Ahly Sporting Club sensationally booted out from the competition.
Al Ahly who are 16 time continental winners were stunned 3-2 (21-25/18-25/25-18/25-23/7-15) by Tunisian giants Esperance Sportive de Tunis in a pulsating encounter Monday evening at the Misurata International Hall, Libya.
In this thrilling encounter, marked by remarkable intensity on both sides of the court, Espérance Sportive de Tunis displayed overall superiority, especially during the first two sets, where they confidently won (25-21, 25-18). Despite a burst of pride from Al Ahly in the third set (18-25), the Tunisian team was able to maintain its lead and ultimately seal its victory.
Esperance showed its superiority in several aspects of the game. In attack, the Tunisians scored 40 points, surpassing Al Ahly, who totaled 35 points in this exercise. However, Esperance’s offensive efficiency was somewhat hampered by 16 fouls against 12 for their opponent. In the blocking, the competition was particularly fierce. Al Ahly stood out with 12 points compared to 10 for Espérance. However, the Tunisian defense showed resilience despite 19 fouls in this area.
In total, Espérance Sportive de Tunis finished with 68 points, while Al Ahly had 64, illustrating the fierce battle of this match. With a game duration of 1 hour and 19 minutes, this duel offered the crowd an intense spectacle, punctuated by impressive rallies and unwavering determination from both teams.
In another semi-final contest, Swehly Sports Club (Libya) qualified for the final in front of a partisan crowd. Swehly tapped into the fervor of its home crowd to brilliantly win against the Patriotic Army of Rwanda (APR) with a score of 3 sets to 1 (25-17, 25-18, 27-29, 25-22).
Swehly Sports Club slightly dominated offensively, scoring 54 points against 52 for the Rwandans. Both teams displayed great fighting spirit, with 91 and 85 attack attempts respectively, reflecting a balanced and hard-fought clash.
In the blocking, the Libyans scored 6 points against 5 for their opponents, a sector where the two teams neutralized each other despite a high number of faults (20 for Swehly, 19 for APR). It was in the service that the difference really widened: Swehly scored 16 direct points, against only 6 for APR, although service faults were relatively numerous (14 for the Libyans and 18 for the Rwandans).
The Libyans’ efficiency was also reflected in the errors they caused: Swehly was able to take advantage of 26 fouls from his opponents, compared to 23 conceded by him.
After losing the first two sets, the Rwandan Patriotic Army redoubled its efforts to win the third set (29-27), taking advantage of a slight lapse in concentration from Swehly Sports Club. But galvanised by a tireless crowd, the Libyans regained their rigor to conclude the match in the fourth set (25-22), thus sealing a precious victory to the cheers of a jubilant crowd.
