After booking the sole slot to the All Africa Games in Morocco during the just ended Zone 5 qualifiers in Uganda, the national women’s volleyball team have switched focus to the July African Nations Championship in Egypt.
The Malkia strikers won all their three matches against hosts Uganda, Rwanda and Ethiopia to book an early ticket to the Rabat bonanza, where they will be seeking to defend the title they won in Congo, Brazzaville in 2015.
Despite winning all their three matches without dropping a set in the four-nation tournament, poor reception returned to haunt them specifically in the match against Uganda on Tuesday night.
The department has drawn the attention of the FIVB seconded coach Shailen Ramdoo, who now wants them to put their act together.
“So far, the players are responding well and I am happy with the results. But the reception is obviously something to think about going forward. Having allowed the hosts top read 6-1 in the second set due to our poor reception was a major risk," said the Italian coach.
Team’s coach Japheth Munala said: “Ugandans had good services, which occasionally destabilised our reception. However, I'm happy we have qualified for the All Africa Games."
Kenya Volleyball Federation technical director, David Lung’aho said despite qualifying Kenyans still need to do a lot as it is not going to be business as usual in the coming events.
“We can no longer rest on our laurels. Other teams have really improved and especially Uganda. We, therefore, need to do a lot going forward. Defending the title in Morocco will not be easy and therefore we need to work hard,” said Lung’aho.
The team arrived in the country yesterday afternoon and will resume training today at the Moi Stadium Indoor Arena ahead of the July show and subsequent International events.
Meanwhile, Salt Factory Sports and Baylor from the USA are the first foreign teams to arrive in the country ahead of this weekend’s Amaco/ Paul Bitok International Volleyball championship at the Eldoret Polytechnic grounds.
Event founder, Paul Bitok confirmed that five other international teams will arrive in the country today. The five—all from Uganda—are Sky (men), KCCA (men and women) and Sports (men and women).
