Sharon Chepchumba emerged the second best scorer with eight points as the hosts Italy overwhelmed Kenya women’s volleyball team 3-0 (25-17,25-10,25-14) during the Intercontinental Olympic Qualifiers pool F match played on Friday night in Catania.
Paola Egonu of Italy led the best scorer accolades with 15 points.
The East Africans will now line up against the Netherlands on Saturday who are placed 7 in the last FIVB ranking in the three-day tournament before taking on Belgium on Sunday.
Kenya are ranked 20 behind Belgium who are placed 19 while Italy in eighth position.
In a post-match interview, Kenya and FIVB attached coach Shailen Ramdoo said the team had a bright start in the first set but stalled in the subsequent sets.
“We started the match in a good way, but we did unnecessary mistakes. I'm happy about the beginning, but the second set wasn't what we normally do, so we're hoping to correct that," Ramdoo said.
“My job is not only to create results but also to create the future and I'm happy with a few individuals, for example, the fast-rising Sharon Chepchumba who is excelling in a short time.”
Team captain Mercy Moim said, “I think today's match was good. In the first set, we played our best, but during the second one, we lost our concentration. However, I'm happy that my team has played against Italy because Italy is the best team in Europe so far... We played our best but luck wasn't on our side."
Lucia Bosetti, Italy captain said,” This first match was a good ice-breaker. We know that Belgium and the Netherlands are totally different from Kenya, they are more trained and prepared and they are going to fight more. The Italian audience has helped a lot during the whole game and I'm sure that they are going to help us even more during the next matches."
Earlier in the day, the Netherlands defeated neighbours Belgium in three sets 3-0 (25-20, 25-15, 25-22)
Tokyo Volleyball Qualification consists of six pools played in different venues around the world from August 1-4 and pool winners in each pool qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
