• KPA humiliated the paramilitary side in sets of 25-22, 25-14 and 25-17, condemning Gideon Tarus’ champions to their first loss of the season and their heaviest defeat in almost three years.
• Tarus conceded defeat, terming it a wake-up call to his charges — who looked like a pale shadow of their former selves.
Image: FILE
Kenya Ports Authority have rekindled their Kenya Volleyball Federation title ambitions following a 3-0 win over defending champions General Service Unit at the Nyayo Stadium on Friday.
KPA humiliated the paramilitary side in sets of 25-22, 25-14 and 25-17, condemning Gideon Tarus’ champions to their first loss of the season and their heaviest defeat in almost three years.
KPA are yet to lose after 12 matches but face a litmus test on Saturday, against Kenya Prisons. KPA coach Sammy Mulinge said the faultless victory was unexpected but his tactics were bang on with reception becoming the team’s secret weapon.
“We didn’t expect to win 3-0 considering GSU is the strongest team in the league and have been dominant over the seasons. We have trained hard for the last two months and participation at the Africa Club Championships was a morale booster. This win will only spur confidence in the players,” said Mulinge.
Mulinge, who guided the women’s beach volleyball team to their maiden appearance at the Olympics in Tokyo last year, added: “We are going for nothing short of the title. The team has grown and there’s seamless transition of young players, who still need to exploit their full potential. Once we stabilised our reception, it was easy to tackle GSU due to the predictability of their attack. We stopped Abiud Chirchir and they looked like an ordinary team,” he added.
Tarus conceded defeat, terming it a wake-up call to his charges — who looked like a pale shadow of their former selves. Despite the setback, Tarus bullishly stated the title is theirs to lose, believing team chemistry will be vital in bouncing back to winning ways against newbies Trail Blazers.
“The mistake was mine because I didn’t find the right balance for the team but the result is unacceptable. We go back to the drawing board to rectify our services, which failed terribly. There was no coordination because we had three players back from their professional stints and that really destabilised the team,” said Tarus, who doubles up as the national men’s coach.
“All is not lost and we will successfully defend our title at all costs. Blazers will face a totally different outfit so they must be prepared.”
Elsewhere, Trail Blazers won their second match of the four-day leg, beating Vihiga in straight sets of 25-15, 25-20 and 25-22. On Thursday, the Geoffrey Omondi-tutored Blazers floored Kenya Defence Forces 3-1.
The soldiers bounced back with sets of 25-21, 25-20, 25-16 and 25-22 in their demolition of Nairobi Prisons.