•Hosts Egypt surrendered their bronze medal to Senegal
Captain Mercy Moim and Agrippina Kundu were awarded the best server and defender respectively as the curtains came down on the African Nations Cup in Cairo, Egypt on Sunday night.
The two received accolades after the national women’s volleyball team failed to complete a double against the much-improved and defending champions Cameroon, going down 2-3 (17-25,27-25,25-23,23-25 and 14-16) during the finals.
The two teams had met in the group stage and once again played to a five-set thriller but it was Kenya who had the final laugh with a 3-2 win. But on Sunday, it was a case of so near yet so far for Kenya.
With the win against the East Africans, the Central Africans successfully defended the title they won in 2017 and the development will count for the FIVB rankings.
Hosts Egypt surrendered their bronze medal to Senegal after going down 1-3 ( 17-25, 17-25, 25-14, 26-28) in the third-place playoff.
In the final against Cameroon, the Kenyan technical bench led by Shailen Ramdoo retained the same squad that won against Senegal in the semifinal on Saturday night as Kenya trailed Cameroon 4-8 and 13-16 in the technical timeouts.
The Central Africans were a better side in the first set as they took advantage of Kenya’s poor service to lead 23-17 before bagging the set 25-17.
In the second set, Noel Murambi, Emmaculate Chemtai and Triza Atuka were rested for Leonida Kasaya, Violet Makuto and Brackcides Agala as Kenya led in both the TTOs at 8-6 and 16-14 as Kasaya, Wisa and Kundu excelled in their respective departments.
For every block and spike, Kenya extended the lead at 23-21 before their opponents earned points thanks to their powerful services to level points at 24-24. However, Kenya held the nerve to win the set 27-25 to level the set ratio at 1-1.
In the third set, poor services returned to haunt Kenya but still squeezed an 8-7 and 16-15 lead but Cameroon overtook them 21-18 before they took the set 25-23 to enjoy a 2-1 advantage.
Agala and Janet Wanja paved way for Atuka and Jane Wacu as Kenya led enjoyed a 8-4 and 16-12 lead in both technical time outs of the fourth set.
Atuka and Kasaya were impressive with their blocks and attacks as Kenya took charge of the set to lead 23-19 before taking it 25-23 to level the sets at 2-2 and set up the dreaded 15-point decider.
Wanja substituted Wacu as the East Africans trailed 7-9 before both teams changed sides. Makuto, Wanja , Kasaya and Atuka put in an impressive performance but it was not good enough as both teams tied 10-10, 13-13. However, it was Cameroon who had the last laugh with 16-14 win.