APR Volleyball Club stunned tournament hosts Kampala Amateur Volleyball Club to be crowned the NSSF-KAVC International Volleyball Tournament champion after a thrilling 3-2 (25-23, 19-25, 19-25, 25-19, 15-12) victory on Sunday. 7th. August. 2022 at the MTN Sports Arena, Lugogo, Kampala.

The Rwandese side under the tutelage of Sylvester Ndayisaba, Yves Mutabazi and Samuel Niyogisubizo clinched the title they last won in 2017 with a hard fought comeback performance in the fourth and fifth sets.

APR reached the final after defeating fellow country men and team, REG Volleyball Club 3-1 while the host KAVC sailed 3-1 past COBRA of South Sudan.

APR won the first set 25-23 but let their feet off the gas pedals in the second set and third set losing 25-19 in both sets.

However, they made amends in the fourth set to force a tie breaker set, holding their nerves to win 26-24 and take the game to set five which they eventually won 15-12 to carry home Gold.

Setter Ndayisaba starred for the Rwandese with a brilliant command and performance.

In set 1, it was a little close for the first 6 points with each side sharing 3 points however, APR took a 7-3 lead which they later stretched to a five point gap, 15-10.

KAVC put up a spirited fight in the last stages of the set, but the 5 points margin wasn't not an easy one to come and this lost it 25-23. 

In the second set, hard-hitting Daudi Okello  and setter Martin combined well upfront to turn around a set that looked to be out of reach and finally helped their team to level the set score at 1-1, wining 25-19.

KAVC grew in the game earning themselves the third set 25-19. At one point, they even had a constant 4 points difference that helped them balance between defense and offence.

In the fourth set, both teams put up a spirited fight which kept the fans of both teams on thier feet. They tied 4-4, 8-8, 12-12 before APR pulled away as they bagged points through blocks to lead 21-16 and finally finished the strongest, winning the set 25-19; and tie the set score at 2-2.

In the fifth, it was still a early contest with both teams trying to minimize on thier errors. KAVC gained an early lead of 6-4 but failed to keep on it, helping APR to come back into the game and even gained a 11-8 lead which they eventually capitalized on to deliver a hard fought victory, 15-12.

In the very last stages of the game, APR's well circulated services returned to haunt KAVC as they struggled with reception and attack.

APR's defense made all the difference as it helped them to win the last three points of the fifth set in a row to send the players into frenzy.

The APR victory in the final was a sweet revenge for the Rwandese as they had lost 3-0 to the same opponents earlier on in the group stages.

Story by Jason Francis Xavier Ndawula www.sportznow.ug Writer