Rwanda finished sixth at the 2026 African Men’s Nations Volleyball Championship after losing 3-0 to Egypt in the fifth-place playoff in Tunis on Thursday.
Egypt won 25-16, 25-21, 26-24 at Palais des Sports El Menzah to secure fifth place, while Rwanda ended the tournament in the same position it occupied at the previous edition in 2023.
Rwanda struggled to match Egypt in the opening set, falling behind early as the defending champions took it 25-16.
The Rwandan side improved in the second set and stayed closer to Egypt, but the North Africans held their advantage to win 25-21 and move within one set of victory.
The third set was Rwanda’s strongest response. The teams remained level deep into the set, reaching 20-20 before Egypt moved to 24-21.
Rwanda saved three match points to level at 24-24, but Egypt took the next two points to close out the match 26-24.
Rwanda captain Wicklif Dusenge finished as his team’s leading scorer with 17 points, while Egypt’s Ahmed Azab led all scorers with 19.
Rwanda had reached the fifth-place playoff after beating Nigeria 3-1 in the classification round on Wednesday. Dusenge scored 26 points in that match as Rwanda won 25-23, 25-20, 18-25, 25-19.
The team had earlier reached the quarter-finals after beating Gambia 3-0 in the round of 16, but hosts Tunisia ended Rwanda’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals with a 3-0 victory.
Rwanda’s best finish at the African championship remains fifth place, achieved in 2005. The 2026 tournament was the country’s eighth appearance at the continental championship.
The championship concludes on Friday, with hosts Tunisia facing Cameroon in the final and Morocco meeting Algeria in the third-place match.
