The Directorate of Criminal Investigation coach Daniel Bor has said his charges need to develop a bulletproof mentality to become a top three team in the Kenya Volleyball Federation women's league.
The sleuths have finished fourth in the last three seasons but the tactician believes his charges have come off age and need to back their growth with a top-three finish this season.
DCI is fourth in the league after winning and drawing one match apiece. They beat newbies Maranatha 3-0 and lost by the same margin against defending champions Kcb.
"The players have garnered enough experience in the last four years but we need a mentality shift to break into the top three. To be the best we need to beat the best teams in this competitive league," Bor said.
"DCI is no longer a small team. Apart from Jemimah Siang'u and Sarah Mamisi, we have the same players that we started the team with."
Bor said playing outdoors has proven a herculean task to his charges. DCI participated in the Heroes tournament in Mosoriot last weekend.
The team will also participate in the Eldoret City tournament at the end of the month where the league matches will also be played. In Eldoret, DCI will rub shoulders against the Kenya Army and Nairobi Prisons.
"It is hard to produce better results when playing outdoors. The winds, coupled with the heavy rains are a big challenge, notwithstanding other challenges like the financial logistics," Bor said.
To bridge the gap with the likes of Kcb and Kenya Pipeline, two of the teams that have been on the ascendancy for the last three years, Bor said they need to recruit new players every season.
"We have a similar squad since we started the team apart from maybe two players. Our rivals always do heavy recruitment whenever an opportunity arises. They go for the top talent from school and their performance has drastically improved," Bor added.
Pipeline won the league title in January albeit unbeaten and went on to finish second in the African Club Championship in Tunisia.
"We need to improve on our service and reception. Our execution of attack must be worked on if the team intends to become a well-oiled machine," Bor observed.
