For head coach Johnson Kawenyera and his Ndejje Elites side, the route out of the group stages has been made tougher after the draw held in the Tunisian capital, Tunis Wednesday evening.
Before the team departed for Tunis on Monday night, one of the teams Kawenyera pointed out to challenge for the title was Tunisian outfit Carthage.
His captain Belinda Jepkirui re-echoed his thoughts saying the team expected to get a tough test against teams like Carthage and Al Ahly from Egypt.
In the draw held on Wednesday evening, the Ugandan champions were placed in Pool A with giants and home side Carthage, Ivory Coast giants ASEC as well as Injis of Cameroon.
With four groups at the event, Ndejje will have to finish in the top two places to book a place in the quarter finals, their target at the championship.
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.
The university side, winners of last year’s women’s league, started the year with a strong message to their challengers but will now set their eyes on the continental expedition.
Saidat Nnungi, Jesca Kaidu, Jepkirui, Christine Alupo, Joan Tushemereirwe, Sharon Amito and Mwamula are some of the key players the team will rely on to challenge the African cream of club volleyball.
To qualify for the championship, Ndejje defeated Nkumba to win the national league title.
Ndejje will play their opening match with Carthage Thursday.
Pool A: Carthage (Tunisia), ASEC (Ivory Coast), Injis (Cameroon), Ndejje (Uganda)
Pool B: Ahly (Egypt), University of Zimbabwe, Marsa (Algeria)
Pool C: Pipeline (Kenya), Sonatrac (Algeria), APR (Rwanda), Bafia (Cameroon)
Pool D: Shams (Egypt), ARSU (Seychelles), SFaxien (Tunisia), FAP (Cameroon)