- Carthage 3-0 Ndejje (25-08, 25-19, 25-14)
Ugandan representatives at the CAVB Clubs Championship Ndejje Elites were handed a rough welcome by home side Carthage Thursday evening.
Playing the opening match of the tournament against the host team, Ndejje were always going to find it tough.
Johnson Kawenyera’s charges lost in straight sets with the home side easing through the tournament opener in Tunis.
The first set was one to forget for the Ugandan champions as they fell 25-08 in a no-show performance.
They improved in the second set despite falling short 25-19 as the Tunisian giants looked to win the game without a lot of effort.
Carthage put the last nail in the coffin with a 25-14 score in the third set to register their first win at the championship.
Ndejje will now have to win their next two games in order to qualify for the quarterfinals.
Drawn in Pool A, the Ugandan outfit still have to face Ivory Coast giants ASEC as well as Injis of Cameroon.
Ndejje, who made their debut on the continent in 2013, are Uganda’s only representatives at the event and will be looking to beat their best performance of 8th place.
Saidat Nnungi, Jesca Kaidu, Jepkirui, Christine Alupo, Joan Tushemereirwe, Sharon Amito and Mwamula are some of the key players who have to pull up their socks if the team is to make it out of the group.
Ndejje will play their next game against Ivory Coast’s ASEC on Sunday April 9.
Despite the loss, Kawenyera remains confident his side can challenge the rest of the teams to advance to the next stage.