Cameroon, Algeria and Morocco survive five sets thrillers as Tunisia cruise into the semifinals

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The quarterfinals of the 2026 CAVB Men’s African Nations Volleyball Championship delivered almost everything a knockout round could offer.
Three matches went to four or five sets, two required a tie-break to determine the winner, and the four survivors emerged from very different types of battles in Tunis.

Cameroon produced the longest and perhaps most dramatic match of the day, overcoming Ghana 3-2 (25:21, 19:25, 23:25, 25:23, 16:14) after 2 hours and 51 minutes. The winners had to recover from a 2-1 deficit and save their tournament after Ghana moved within one set of the semifinals.
Cameroon took the opening set 25-21, but Ghana immediately responded, winning the second 25-19 before edging the third 25-23. With their opponents one set away from elimination, Cameroon forced a deciding fifth set by taking the fourth 25-23.
The tie-break remained on a knife-edge all the way to the finish. Cameroon eventually prevailed 16-14, completing a comeback in a match in which the two teams accumulated exactly 108 points apiece.
The official statistics show just how balanced the contest was: Cameroon finished with 61 successful attacks to Ghana’s 58, while both teams recorded 10 winning blocks. Ghana had a slight advantage from the service line, with 10 aces against nine for Cameroon. Christian Arthur Voukeng Mbativou and Elie Badawe each scored 20 points for Cameroon, while Adam Brahim added 18.
Cameroon’s reward is a semifinal meeting with Algeria, setting up another heavyweight encounter after Algeria produced its own five-set upset against defending champions Egypt.

Egypt–Algeria was decided by the smallest possible margin. Algeria won 3-2 (25:17, 20:25, 19:25, 25:23, 15:13) after 2 hours and 5 minutes, with the final aggregate score reading 104-103 in favour of the Algerians.
Algeria made the stronger start, taking the opening set 25-17, but Egypt gradually turned the match around. The defending champions won the second 25-20 and the third 25-19, putting themselves within one set of another semifinal appearance.
The fourth set became the turning point. With the score tied at 23-23, Algeria took the next two points to force a deciding set. Egypt again stayed close in the tie-break, but Algeria eventually closed it out 15-13.
The statistics make the narrowness of the result even more striking. Both teams scored exactly 57 points from attack, while Egypt actually had a substantial advantage in blocking, 13 winning blocks to seven. Algeria led only marginally in aces, 7-6. The decisive difference came from errors: Algeria collected 33 points from Egyptian mistakes, compared with 27 points gained by Egypt from Algerian errors.
Egypt nevertheless had the match’s leading scorer. A. Said finished with 21 points, including 16 attacks, two blocks and three aces. Algeria’s top scorer was Farouk Tizit with 17 points, while Mohammed Radhi Krid added 15.
The result ends Egypt’s defence of the continental title and sends Algeria into the semifinals, where they will face Cameroon.

If the first two quarterfinals were decided by the smallest margins, the third produced a completely different picture. Hosts Tunisia defeated Rwanda 3-0 (25:13, 25:18, 25:18) in 68 minutes to become the third team through to the semifinals.
Tunisia controlled the match from the opening exchanges, taking the first set 25-13 in just 20 minutes. Rwanda improved in the second and third sets, but the hosts remained in control, closing both 25-18.
The numbers underline the scale of Tunisia’s performance. The hosts scored 40 winning attacks against 25 for Rwanda, produced eight blocks to Rwanda’s three and had four aces compared with one. Tunisia also committed only five attacking errors, while Rwanda made 16.
Oussama Ben Romdhane and Ali Bongui led Tunisia with 13 points apiece. Ben Romdhane contributed 10 attacks, one block and two aces, while Bongui added 10 attacks and three blocks.
Rwanda’s leading scorer was Dusenge Wicklif with 11 points.

The final quarterfinal of the day brought another five-set battle, with Morocco defeating Nigeria 3-2 (20:25, 25:15, 25:21, 24:26, 15:12) after 2 hours and 23 minutes.
Nigeria started strongly, taking the opening set 25-20, but Morocco responded decisively. The North Africans won the second 25-15 and then the third 25-21 to move within one set of the semifinals.
Nigeria refused to surrender. The fourth set was the longest of the match, lasting 36 minutes, and the Nigerians eventually saved the quarterfinal by winning it 26-24. The deciding set, however, belonged to Morocco, who kept their composure to close out the match 15-12.
The statistics tell an intriguing story. Nigeria actually finished with more successful attacks, 62 to 53, and more winning blocks, 15 to 11. The Nigerians also had the match’s top scorer in Jaiyeola, who finished with 23 points, including 18 attacks and five blocks.
Morocco’s answer came from distribution and efficiency.
Mourad Bahid and Oussama El Azhari each scored 18 points, while Mohamed En-Nakhai added 12 and Ismail Abouddaka and Hamza Ouyachi contributed 10 apiece. Morocco also led 7-4 in aces.
But the most striking number came in the error column.
Morocco scored 38 points from Nigerian mistakes, while Nigeria gained only 18 from Moroccan errors. That 20-point difference more than compensated for Nigeria’s advantage in direct points and ultimately decided a quarterfinal in which the losing side actually produced more successful attacks and blocks.
Morocco’s victory sets up a semifinal against hosts Tunisia, while the other semifinal will see Cameroon face Algeria. The final four therefore brings together two of the tournament’s most dramatic survivors and two very different winners: Tunisia, who dismantled Rwanda in straight sets, and Morocco, who had to survive another five-set test.

With the defending champions Egypt and Nigeria both eliminated, the race for the African title has entered a completely new phase in Tunis. Four teams remain, and after a quarterfinal day that produced 10 sets across the four matches, the margin between victory and elimination has rarely looked smaller.

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🏐| CAVB Men’s African Nations Volleyball Championship | Tunis 2026 | Quarterfinals:

👉🏼Monday September 21, 2026
• 12.00 (Local Time) | Cameroon – Ghana 3-2 (25:21, 19:25, 23:25, 25:23, 16:14)
• 15.00 (Local Time) | Egypt – Algeria 2-3 (17:25, 25:20, 25:19, 23:25, 13:15)
• 18.00 (Local Time) | Tunisia – Rwanda 3-0 (25:13, 25:18, 25:18)
• 21.00 (Local Time) | Nigeria – Morocco 2-3 (25:20, 15:25, 21:25, 26:24, 12:15)

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