Press release

Cairo, Egypt, April 30, 2011 – The quarterfinal places at the 2011 Men’s African Club Championship have all been filled as the fight for a place at the 2011 FIVB Volleyball Club World Championships continued in Cairo, Egypt on Saturday.

Al Ahly of host country Egypt and National University of Rwanda from Pool A were the first side to qualify on day two of the tournament, and were subsequently joined by Prisons (Kenya), Port de Douala (Cameroon) from Pool B, El Guish (Egypt), Setif (Algeria) from Pool C, Blida (Algeria) and FAP (Cameroon) from Pool D after the third and last day of the preliminary round on Saturday.

The quarterfinal matches for positions 1 to 8 will be held at Abdalla El Faysal hall on Monday.

The success of those teams leaves the following sides to contest the 9-16 brackets on Tuesday: Al Nahda (SUD), OSB (NGR), GSU (KEN), Redskins (LES), Inter Club (CGO), Saggana (SUD), Rukinzo (BUR) and Daim Hamad (SUD).

The eventual champions will earn a spot at the 2011 FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship, set to take place later this year in Qatar.

Pool A
The host team Al Ahly of Egypt continued their winning rhythm for the third match in a row and overpowered National University of Rwanda 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-16). Although it was the most difficult match for Ahly they succeeded in dominating through the efficient setter Alexander. The victory clinched top spot in the pool for Ahly with a win-loss ratio of 3-0 and the Rwandan team finished second (2-1). Al Nahda of Sudan outclassed Redskins of Lesotho 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 33-31) to achieve their only victory in the first round. The Sudanese team founded their attacks through their wing spikers to win the first and second sets before Redskins pulled one back in the third. But in a tense fourth set Nahda came out on top, narrowly winning 33-31. The Sudanese team finished third (1-2) and Redskins fourth (0-3)

Pool B 
Prisons kept their unbeaten record intact when they trounced Inter Club of Congo Brazzaville 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-17) in a one sided game. Prisons deployed their solid block against the Inter attacks and arranged their combination to deceive their opponents to win in straight sets. Prisons finished the pool matches with a 3-0 record leaving Inter Club in third (1-2). Port de Douala of Cameroon clinched the second spot in the quarterfinal when they flew past Daim Hamad of Sudan 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-20). Port finished second in the pool (2-1) and Daim Hamad fourth (0-3). 

Pool C
Al Guish of Egypt completed a successful day for the hosts as they clinched their third victory of the pool over Al Saggana of Sudan 3-0 (25-12, 25-11, 25-9). With a variable line up through the match Al Guish kept their dominance and led widely to lead the pool with a 3-0 record, leaving Al Saggana at the bottom of the pool (0-3). Setif of Algeria clinched the second ticket of the pool following their straight sets victory over Rukinzo of Burundi (25-20, 25-23, 25-15). Although the Burundi team emerged frequently through the match the Algerians won the critical points to take an easy win. Setif finished second in the pool (2-1) and Rukinzo third (1-2). 

Pool D 
Pool D proved to be the most exciting on the final day with two desciscive matches on show as Blida of Algeria and FAP of Cameroon clinched the quarterfinal tickets at the last breath. FAP of Cameroon fought for more than two hours to overcome Sunshine brothers of Nigeria 3-2 (26-28, 25-21, 26-28, 25-21, 15-12). FAP improved their record to 2-1 to finish second in the pool while OSB ended at the bottom of the pool (1-2). Blida (ALG) struggled to defeat GSU of Kenya 3-1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-17, 34-32). Blida finished at the top of the pool on points ratio ahead of FAP while GSU finished third.

Day 3 Results 
Pool A
Al Nahda (SUD) x Redskins (LES) 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 33-31)
Al Ahly (EGY) x NUR (RWA) 3-0 (25-15, 25-22, 25-16)
Pool B
Prisons (KEN) x Inter Club (CGO) 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-17)
PAD (CMR) x Daim Hamad (SUD) 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-20)
Pool C
Setif (ALG) x Rukinzo (BUR) 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-15)
Al Guish (EGY) x Al Saggana (SUD) 3-0 (25-12, 25-11, 25-9)
Pool D
FAP (CMR) x OSB (NGR) 3-2 (26-28, 25-21, 26-28, 25-21, 15-12)
Blida (ALG) x GSU (KEN) 3-1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-17, 34-32)

Quarterfinal Program
Quarterfinal 1-8 Monday 2nd May
1st A / Al Ahly (EGY) x 2nd D/ FAP (CMR)
1st D/ Blida (ALG)  x 2nd A/ NUR (RWA)
1st B/ Prisons (KEN) x 2nd C/ Setif (ALG)
1st C/ Al Guish (EGY) x 2nd B/ PAD (CMR)  
Quarterfinal 9-16 Tuesday 3rd May
3rd A/ Al Nahda (SUD) x 4th D/ OSB (NGR) 
3rd D/ GSU (KEN) x 4thA/ Redskins (LES)
3rd B/ Inter Club (CGO) x 4th C/ Saggana (SUD)
3rd C/ Rukinzo (BUR)x 4th B/ Daim Hamad (SUD)