National volleyball champions Kwanthanze Girls' coach may be forced to do minus five of their key players ahead of the Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) Games in Kisumu this weekend.
Coach Justine Kigwari said defending the title will be a bit of a challenge minus the five players who he declined to name. " We will be lucky to go past semi-final with considering five of our starting lineup are nursing injuries picked in training sessions.
The Eastern-based outfit has been drawn in a relatively easy Pool B alongside St John’s Kaloleni, Passenga and a team from North Eastern.
Kigwari said besides losing some of their players who cleared school last year, five others are down with injuries ahead of the week-long event.
“On paper, our pool appears to be easy but we will not be carried away. As much as we would love to top the pool, I know it will be a mountain to climb considering our situation,” noted Kigwari.
He added: “The real test awaits us after the preliminary round. The other pool is tough and whoever will emerge from there will be a force to reckon with. All in all, we are going to give the matches the seriousness it deserves with the aim of retaining the title and going all the way to East Africa late next month in Tanzania.”
At the same time, games returnees Sega are keen to defy odds and excel at the event having missed last year. Teams coach John Duro said they are in a tough pool but they are keen to go an extra mile and pull surprises.
'Sega are in Pool 'A' together with regulars Cheptil, Soweto and Bishop Sulumeti. Duro said it will be a tough call considering they missed last year's event but said the development might work for or against them.
"In 2017, we finished fourth at the nationals but failed to make it to 2018. However, this year, we have had a good run and I'm glad we are back at the nationals. Thanks to the Arthur Odera tournament, we gauged ourselves over the weekend and we are good to go,” noted the tactician.
He added: “At least with few days remaining, we will work on our backcourt and defence that seemed to be our main undoing in the event but all in all we are set for the school games.”
