By Ikenna Nwokedi
Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) Male and Female Volleyball teams have emerged Champions of the second edition of the annual Inter Tertiary Institution’s Volleyball Championship tagged ‘Spike It’.
The two-day competition held at the Volleyball court near Bakassi, UNIZIK saw UNIZIK as the host alongside Federal Polytechnic Oko, Federal College of Education (Technical), FCE, Umunze and Enugu State University of Technology (ESUT), Enugu featuring in the event held from Wednesday, 4th to Thursday, 5th October 2023.
The competition which was facilitated by the Chairman, University Sports Committee, Dr. Dereck Orji was bankrolled by Chief Chris Okonkwo, CEO Best C Chris Global Limited with partners such as Pacent Technologies, Kyration Tattos and Proudly Anambra.
To emerge Champions, UNIZIK male side won all their three matches beating Federal Polytechnic Oko by two sets to one (25-22, 23-25, 19-17), they also saw off FCE (Technical) Umunze by two sets to nil (25-16 and 25-13) and ESUT two sets to nil (25-15, 25-18).
The UNIZIK female volleyball side also replicated the performance of the male team as they defeated Fed. Poly. Oko bouncing back from first set loss to win by two sets to one (23-25, 25-21, 15-13). Federal Polytechnic Oko male and female sides emerged second while ESUT male and female sides settled for third place.
Reacting during the event, the Chairman of the occasion and former member of the Anambra State House of Assembly representing Onitsha South II, Hon. Barrister Uzoma Eli commended the facilitator for the idea behind the competition aimed at promoting the game of volleyball at higher school level and creating conviviality amongst tertiary institutions within the state and the zone at large.
Hon. Eli also eulogized the various institutions for turning up for the competition, playing well and displaying a true spirit of sportsmanship. Eli averred that the competition has come to stay as he will always support the growth of the game of volleyball in the state and beyond. He also thanked UNIZIK Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Charles Esimone, FAS, for supporting Sports initiatives in the institution.
Highpoints of the competition was an exhibition match between Team Anambra Volleyball Bronze winning male and female sides from the just concluded 7th National Youth Games (NYG) in Asaba playing against Selected players from the four institutions in attendance. The competition also had the presence of Nigeria U-19 Volleyball National Team Player, Ifunanya Udeagbala in attendance who also featured in the exhibition game.
Also in attendance were the institution’s Director of Sports, Mr. Kenneth Ogbonna; UNIZIK Volleyball Coach, Mr. Elochukwu Ezeonu; The Manager of Fidelity Bank PLC (UNIZIK Branch), Dr. Ikenna Nwankwo; Head of Department, Surveying and Geoinformatics, Surveyor Dr. Chibueze Onwuzuligbo; The institution’s Chief Safety Officer, Chief Ken Chukwurah; Mr. Ifeanyi Aso of Kyration Tattos; Engr. Chima Okoli; Surveyor Okechukwu Okeke and Dr. Chinedu Mbalisi.
The annual ‘Spike It’ Volleyball Championship is a brainchild of Dr. Dereck Orji with the inaugural edition held in 2021 and bankrolled by Barrister A. Agbasiere (KSJI).
