ALEXANDRIA, Egypt — Cameroon’s Under-18 boys got their African Nations Volleyball Championship off to a wrong start on Wednesday, going down 3-1 to Tunisia in their opening Pool B fixture at the Pioneers American School gymnasium.
The scoreline read 25-22, 25-17, 20-25, 25-18 in Tunisia’s favour, and it told the story of a Cameroon side that never quite found its footing until it was too late to matter.
Martial Djoby’s young Lionceaux, playing their first match on this continental stage, looked shaky from the opening whistle. They fell behind early, 5-10, and while a string of well-timed timeouts from the bench helped them chip away at the gap, they twice failed to draw level late in the set. Houmsou and his teammates got as close as 20-21 before Tunisia closed it out 25-22.
The second set followed an almost identical script. Cameroon struggled to control the tempo of play and were overwhelmed 25-17.
Then came the response nobody quite expected. Fired up and determined not to let the match slip away entirely, Cameroon came out for the third set with real authority, racing to a 6-1 lead. Tunisia’s Ghezal and company used a timeout to trim the deficit to three points, but Cameroon held their nerve this time, taking the set 25-20 and giving their supporters something to shout about.
It didn’t last. The old habits crept back in for the fourth set. Cameroon fumbled another opening stretch and Tunisia, sensing the match was there for the taking, ran away with it 25-17 to seal a 3-1 victory.
This defeat stings, though the coaching staff say they remain confident heading into the rest of the pool stage.
There was at least a show of solidarity from elsewhere in the squad. Cameroon’s girls’ team, not due to play until later in the schedule, filled the stands to cheer on their male counterparts throughout the contest.
The tournament runs from 21 to 30 July, with Cameroon now needing a response when they return to court later in Pool B.
