Ndejje fall in opener

Ndejje Elites must forget about their 3-0 loss to Carthage and go all out against ASEC Mimosa on Monday.

The Ugandan representatives at the ongoing Women’s African Club Volleyball Championship in Kelibia, Tunisia struggled to get going against the defending champions Sunday afternoon and fell in straight sets.

The fight was there in the second set and the opening stages of the third with Moreen Mwamula attacking hard and getting points.

Ronald Kitosi’s charges led 5-4 in the second and were level at 14-all before slipping and Carthage took the set 25-22.

Carthage went on sail through the third frame to get off the mark.

Ainembabazi blow 

After winning the league, Ndejje added Catherine Ainembabazi to bolster their reception and attack.

The club championship was supposed to be her first assignment.

The receiver-attacker, however, missed out on making her continental debut through injury.

She sprained her ankle in the team’s last training session before the team travelled and failed to recover in time for the first game.

Whether she will be ready for today’s clash with Mimosa is a matter of continued assessment.

In her absence, Shadia Wanyenze was called upon to fill the gap.

“We did well under the circumstances,” Kitosi told this reporter after the game.

“We have the chance to rectify on our mistakes in the next games.”

Ndejje travelled to the championship with eleven players and with Ainembabazi out, the team is left with ten players to work with.

Fatigue 

The team’s long journey started Friday evening when they set off from Entebbe Airport aboard Qatar Airways.

The next stop was Doha and, there, a 10-hour layover awaited them.

The night was spent at the airport and the team connected to Tunis Friday morning.

Upon arrival in Tunis, there were delays in processing the team’s entry visas and this lasted over five hours.

Tunis to Kelibia is a two-hour drive and the team checked into their rooms at Kelbia Beach Hotel late Friday.

Coach Kitosi’s charges got a boost upon learning that the action would start Sunday and not Saturday as earlier communicated.

That allowed the coaches to sneak in two training sessions before Sunday’s clash with Carthage.