Confederation of African Volleyball, a first for VUT women’s team!
Confederation of African Volleyball, a first for VUT women’s team!
Playing with spirit: The VUT Women’s Volleyball Team
Vusi Zwane
The VUT (Vaal University of Technology) women’s volleyball team participated at the Confederation of African Volleyball tournament for the first time ever, after qualifying in second place at the VSA (Volleyball South Africa) championships in Durban 2017.
On 7 December 2017, various delegations (Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Zambia and South Africa) arrived in Bulawayo (Zimbabwe). VUT representing South Africa did well on their debut by coming 4th overall in the tournament which gives them automatic qualification to the All African Club Championships which will be held in Egypt, March 2018. The team won all of its matches only to be beaten 3 – 2 by Botswana in the semi-finals.
A special award, ‘Best Setter’ (a specialised role in a volleyball team similar to a scrum half in rugby) was given to Peggy Msimanga (VUT) as the Best Setter of the tournament.
One of the greatest challenges faced by VUT volleyball was the passing away of coach Mofokeng last year, who fought for the team to participate in this tournament. This was the one tournament he wanted his team to participate in and they managed to do just that, though in his absence. Many of the players are still emotionally affected by his passing, but they continue to play with spirit and passion in order to honour his memory.
