Ghana’s Black Spikers have been knocked out of the semi-final race at the 2026 CAVB Women’s Africa Nations Volleyball Championship after suffering a 3-1 defeat to Rwanda in the quarter-finals in Nairobi, Kenya, on Tuesday, September 1.
The Ghanaian side, which had fought its way into the last eight after a difficult start to the competition, showed flashes of resilience but were ultimately undone by technical errors and inconsistent passing as Rwanda secured the win.
Rwanda took control of the opening set, winning 25-17, but the Black Spikers responded strongly in the second set, edging their opponents 26-24 to level the contest and raise hopes of completing a comeback.
However, Ghana struggled to maintain its momentum in the subsequent sets. A series of errors, difficulties in controlling the ball and an inability to execute attacks effectively allowed Rwanda to regain control and eventually seal a 3-1 victory.
Despite the defeat, head coach Danladi Abdul-Rahman expressed pride in his players, insisting that the team had exceeded expectations by reaching the quarter-finals.
“We had a bad pass. We couldn’t pass for more than six consecutive times, and that is what cost us. When you are playing an equally strong opponent, you cannot afford to make silly mistakes,” he said.
“I call them silly mistakes because we could have passed better. We have been doing it throughout the competition, so I don’t know what happened today.”
Coach Danladi also believed Ghana had opportunities to turn the match around, particularly in the fourth set, when Rwanda appeared to be tiring.
“Even in the fourth set, we could have done better. The Rwandans were tired at that point and were panting. I believe we had more energy, but we lost concentration, and unfortunately, we lost the match.”
The coach, however, refused to blame his players for the setback, praising their determination to overcome a difficult start to the championship. “There are no regrets at all. I am too proud of the girls. Nobody gave us a chance in this competition. We came as underdogs in our group, but we fought our way through to the quarter-finals.”
The Black Spikers began the tournament on a difficult note, losing their opening two group matches against Cameroon and Nigeria. They responded with a crucial victory over Tunisia before defeating Zambia 3-1 to secure their place in the quarter-finals.
Their journey ended against Rwanda, but Coach Danladi believes the team’s performance has given Ghanaian volleyball something to build on.
“We are making Ghana proud. We were the only team from West Africa to reach the quarter-finals. Others had all the incentives, but they could not reach where we have gotten.” “We will fight hard, go home and do our homework. Next time, we will do it better. Our focus now is to represent Ghana, and I believe we did our best.”
With their semi-final hopes over, the Black Spikers will now turn their attention to the classification matches as they fight to secure the best possible placement at the championship.