Chema coach Jeremiah Mukopi/FILE
The matches start today through to Sunday at Nyayo National Stadium Gymnasium in Nairobi after the four teams advanced from a dramatic quarterfinal round in Mombasa.
KPA head coach James Ontere said his side’s focus is firmly on the title after completing their quarterfinal assignment and shifting camp to Nairobi early to fine-tune preparations ahead of the last-four showdown.
“We have put ourselves in a good position, but for us, reaching the semifinals is not the target; it is only one step towards what we want to achieve. We are going to Nairobi with the mindset of finishing the job because this team wants to compete for the title, and we know opportunities like this have to be taken.
“We prepared early because once you get to this stage there is no room for excuses, whether you are playing at home or away, and the challenge now is to show the same hunger, discipline and consistency that got us here,” said Ontere.
The men’s semifinal lineup was completed at Makande Hall, where former champions Kenya Prisons knocked out defending champions General Service Unit to set up a last-four clash against surprise package Chema. KPA and KDF also progressed to keep their title ambitions alive.
GSU will miss the semifinals for the first time in recent years after their title defence ended in a 2-0 best-of-three series defeat to perennial rivals Kenya Prisons, capping a difficult campaign for coach Gideon Tarus.
The paramilitary side opened the quarterfinals with a straight-sets defeat before falling 3-1 in the second match. GSU took the opening set 25-19 but failed to maintain momentum as Kenya Prisons fought back to win the next three sets 25-23, 25-21 and 25-21 to complete the series sweep.
GSU’s struggles this season were compounded by the loss of key players, with setter Mathias Kemboi moving to KDF and outside hitter Nicholas Matui joining Kepler Volleyball Club in Rwanda.
Kenya Prisons will now turn their attention to Chema, who continued their impressive run by rallying from a set down to beat Trailblazers Volleyball Club 3-1. The newcomers lost the opening set 22-25 before recovering to take the next three 25-22, 25-16 and 25-21 to secure a semifinal place in their maiden top-flight playoff campaign.
KDF also had to come from behind to reach the last four after edging Equity Bank Volleyball Club 3-2 in a hard-fought contest. After losing the opening two sets 22-25 and 24-26, KDF responded strongly to claim the next three 25-20, 25-17 and 15-11 and set up a semifinal showdown with KPA.
KPA completed the men’s semifinal cast with a dominant 3-0 victory over Kenya Airport Police Unit, winning 25-17, 25-13 and 25-17 to remain on course for the title as the playoffs shift to Nairobi.
In the women’s competition, defending champions Kenya Pipeline, KCB, Kenya Prisons and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations also booked semifinal places after successfully navigating their quarterfinal assignments at Aga Khan Academy.
Pipeline underlined their title credentials with another commanding display against Nairobi Prisons, cruising to a 3-0 victory of 25-20, 25-15 and 25-14 to complete a 2-0 sweep in the best-of-three series after winning the opening match 25-17, 25-18 and 25-20.
The women’s semifinals will see Pipeline face DCI while KCB take on Kenya Prisons. In the men’s competition, KPA will play KDF while Kenya Prisons face Chema as the race for places in this season’s KVF National League finals gathers momentum in Nairobi.
