KC
Bank and Al Ahly to Final Spot
Vacoas, Mauritius, April 22-: The
surprise KC Bank of Kenya and Al Ahly of
Egypt, Qualified to the final spot of
the twenty first African Clubs Champions
Championship here at Pandit Sahadeo hall
in Vacoas on Saturday. KC Bank defeated
their Neighbors and Arch Rivals
Pipelines while as Al Ahly pulled of a
straight sets victory over Mafolofolo of
Botswana in the semifinal matches.
Kenya Commercial Bank achieved a great
surprise when they pulled of a big
victory over their Arch Rivals and
Neighbors Kenya Pipelines in a thriller
five sets match considered the best of
the competition and kept the spectators
on their toes for 108 minutes.
“I motivated my players before the match
by an indirect way by telling them that
we already sure of getting the bronze
medal which is our objective and now we
are looking to play a good match and
proof our consistency. So I told them to
keep relaxed all through the match and
this happened. Also we depend mainly on
our attackers because we have weak
defense so when we used our weapon in
the third and fourth sets and Tie break
we achieved our goals and won the
difficult match.” Said KC Bank Head
Coach Paul Bitok.
Al Ahly head Coach used all the
available players in the list to defeat
Mafolofolo of Botswana 3-0 (25-16,
25-11, 25-14) in 59 minutes. He wanted
to relief his standing players but used
the main stars to achieve the victory
specially Tahani Tosson who was the
match scorer with 17 points and also the
wing spikers Noran Maghawry and Sherihan
Sameh who played for the first time
after she was ill at the start of the
competition.
Ahly Head Coach Raouf Abdel kader Said
after the victory: “We played a good
match according to our strategy using
most of our players during the three
sets to prepare them all for the final
tomorrow. I used Sherihan Sameh who was
ill and didn’t participate till now in
this match to give her the sense of the
matches before the final tomorrow. I
want to thank my players for applying
our tactics using their strong services
and spikes from different positions.”
Mofolofolo team did their best but they
were satisfied of being between the
final four teams for the first time in
the history of Botswana clubs. “We
achieved a great victory through
reaching this stage of being in the
semifinal for the first time in the
history of Botswana teams in the African
competitions.” Said Mafolofolo Head
Coach Kabo Ntshinogang.
In the 5th and 6th position match,
Vallijee Citizens of Mauritius becomes
the block hoarse of the competition
after they defeated Motemba Pembe of
Congo RD 3-1 (22-25, 25-17, 25-16,
25-22) to achieve the 5th position of
the competition leaving Congo RD
Champions in the 6th position. The fifth
position is considered the best for the
hoist country in the history of African
club competitions. The head coach of V.
Citizens Jean Claude Douce motivated his
players before the match to get this
prestigious position.
“When we entered the competition our
objective was to get the 6th position
and now we get benefit from the
disqualification of Sonel of Cameroon to
achieve the 5th position which reflects
the progress of our volleyball in this
competition,” Douce Said happily after
the match. “I asked my players before
the match to use their ability and
improvement to achieve the victory over
Motemba Pembe because I know that they
are able to do it” He added.
In the 7th and 8th position match Sonel
of Cameroon who was second in
Preliminary Pool B before they were
considered losers in their three matches
defeated Azur of Mauritius 3-1
(25-12,20-25, 25-11, 25-16) in 72
minutes. Sonel was ranked 7th leaving
the host team in the 8th and bottom of
the rank. Sonel Head Coach Joseph Nane
was unhappy after the match. “We played
without motivation because of the
problem of our disqualification from the
semifinal. I think it was wise to
declare the penalty before the beginning
of the competition instead of waiting
after we qualified.” Nane commented.
On the other side Azur Head Coach Guito
Lepoigneur was satisfied although he
ended the competition at the bottom of
the table. “We are satisfied with the
participation in this competition
because we need only to get experience”
Guito Said.
Finals
The competition will end on Sunday with
the final match between KC Bank of Kenya
and Al Ahly of Egypt and this match will
be preceded by the Bronze Medal match
between Pipelines of Kenya and
Mafolofolo of Botswana.
Ahly,
Sonel and the two Kenyan Teams to
Semifinal Spot
Vacoas, Mauritius, April 20-: The
defending champions, Pipelines of Kenya
and Al Ahly of Egypt, Sonel of Cameroon
and KC Bank of Kenya qualified to the
semifinal spot of the twenty first
African Clubs Champions Championship
here at Pandat Sahadeo hall in Vacoas on
Thursday. The four teams achieved
victories at the third and last day of
the preliminary round to be ranked first
and second in both competition pools.
Al Ahly led pool A with 6 points ahead
of KC Bank which comes second with 5
points from 2 victories and one defeat,
then Motemba Pembe od Congo RD came
third with 4 points and Azur of
Mauritius at the bottom with 3 points.
Pipelines led Pool B with 6 points from
three victories and becomes the only
team in the competition to win all
matches without dropping a set ahead of
Sonel of Cameroon who came second with 5
points from 2 victories and one defeat,
then Mafoflofolo of Botswana third with
4 points and Vallijee Citizens of
Mauritius fourth with three points.
Al Ahly of Egypt appearing without their
well known performance recorded the
third victory in Pool A over Motemba
Pembe of Congo RD 3-1 (21-25, 25-16,
25-17, 25-16) in a thriller match
lasting 84 minutes to lead pool A. The
experienced star Tahani Tosson and the
wing spiker Noran Maghawry played a
great role in the victory specially
Tahani who was the match scorer with 17
points.
Al Ahly Head Coach, Raouf Abdel Kader
refered His Team’s unexpected
performance to the physical drop because
he gave his team a rest yesterday. “I
gave the team a negative rest yesterday
so they appeared without their well
known performance. After we lost the
first set we improved after I changed
the setter Yosra with the other setter
Miral and I used the original setter
Yosra as a wing spiker from position 4
and also through the efficient spikes
from the team captain Tahani Tosson. We
are looking forwards now to meet Sonel
in the semifinal to continue our way to
the cup.” Raouf said.
Motemba Pembe Head Coach, Vicky Mawa
concluded After the match that his team
played this match with high motivations
because the victory could put them in
the semis. “We had good block and spikes
but we lost many points in reception
because of the frequent mistakes.” He
added.
After their weak start, KC Bank team of
Kenya came from one set back to achieve
3-1 victory (22-25, 25-23, 25-15, 25-18)
in 90 minutes full of volleyball skills
to qualify to the semifinal. The Kenyans
thought that it will be an easy journey
to the semifinal when the home team
surprised them in front of their excited
spectators, but the stars came on time
to achieve the victory.
K C bank Head Coach Paul Bitok, thinking
of the semifinal match said:” Our
objective was to win also one set to
qualify and I made a mistake to tell
them that before the match so I put them
under pressure from the beginning. I
used different tactical strategies
during the match because we are now
looking forwards to our semifinal match
against our country’s team Pipelines.
Azur Head coach, Guito Lepoigneur was
happy although he lost and he
commented:”We played our best match in
the competition after my players get
used to meet the big team in the
competition. Now we are thinking of the
future when we participate in the
competitions next year. “
In Pool B, Kenya Pipelines used a
mixture of experienced and young players
to set the third victory in a row over
Mafolofolo of Botswana 3-0 (25-14,
25-14, 25-14) in only Minutes to lead
the pool without dropping a set.
Pipelines coach strategy depended on
using the entire player because he wants
to renew the team and decrease the age
average in future.
“I tried to use all my players to give
the youngsters chance in future and I
used this easy match to apply the
strategy,” Said Kenya Pipelines Coach,
David Lungaho after the match. He added:
“I considered this match a preparation
for the finals and now I’m looking
forwards to the next match against our
Arch rivals KC Bank which will not be
easy although we won in the national
league 3-1 this season.”
Mafolofolo Coach, Kabo Ntshinogang was
not happy of his team’s performance
because they didn’t play with
motivation. “I didn’t expect from my
team to play without energy like that
but it is normal to lose against such
strong teams. We had young players who
don’t have enough experience and even
participation in zone 6 competition
didn’t give enough experience because
this zone is not competitive at the
continental level.” Kabo Said.
In an exciting match attended by big
home spectators, Sonel of Cameroon
clinched a considerable victory over V.
Citizens of Mauritius 3-0 (26-24, 25-17,
25-7). The losers started the match
aggressively and reached to the draw
24-24 in the first set after a high
performance from the team star Sanderine
Jery who came as her team scorer but
they lost the set due to reception and
technical mistakes to allow Sonel to
dominate the match afterwards and win
the second and third sets easily through
their efficient star Ruth Diboue who
came as the match scorer with 17 points.
“My team started the match very relaxed
and this allowed our opponent to enter
the match, but after they felt danger of
losing they played well and proof their
consistency.” Said Sonel Head Coach
Joseph Nane. “I think V. citizens played
a tough match in the first set but when
my stars Ruth and team captain Rose
showed their performance we won easily
the second and third sets with a wide
point deficit.” Nane Added.
Both teams of the organizing country
left the first round without setting a
victory but V. Citizens Head Coach, Jean
Claude Douce was happy that his team had
the experience of playing the big teams
in the continent. “We started the match
aggressively because we know that we
have to win in straight sets to qualify
to semis, but we lost the critical
points in the first set after we draw
24-24 by silly mistakes. I think we left
this competition with a very positive
achievement through playing with the big
teams in the continent because our
p[layers in Mauritius don’t have the
opportunity to play big matches in the
local league.” Douce commented after the
match.
Semifinal and Ranking Fixtures
The semifinal of the competition will
feature two thrilling clashes on
Saturday, as Al Ahly of Egypt meets
Sonel of Cameroon, while the other
semifinal will be a purely Kenyan clash
between the Arch Rivals Kenya Pipeline
and Kenya Commercial Bank. Motemba plays
Mafolofolo for the fifth and sixth
positions and the 2 Mauritius teams Azur
and V. Citizens will compete for the
seventh and eighth position.
Day
Two
Al Ahly and Pipelines Set Second
victories
Vacoas, Mauritius, April 19-: The big
favorite teams Al Ahly of Egypt and
Pipelines of Kenya achieved both
theirsecond victories the second day of
the twenty first African Clubs Champions
Championship here at Le Quorum hall in
Rose Hill on Wednesday. Both teams
clinched easy win over the organizing
country teams Azur and Vallijee
Citizens. KC Bank of Kenya and Sonel of
Cameroon both set their first victory
and appeared very competitive to
semifinal with the leaders of the pool
Al Ahly and Pipelines.Al Ahly head coach
Raouf Abdel Kader used most of his bench
players and kept most of the standing
outside the court to sweep the
organizers Azur of Mauritius 3-0 (25-11,
25-19, 25-13) in only 55 minutes in
competition Pool A. The youngsters Marwa
Yassin who came the match scorer with 12
points, Hagar Badr and Nahla Sameh were
the stars of the match while Anja Ah Yu
and Maita Passy were the best in the
loser. The victory put Al Ahly top of
the pool with 4 points while Azur became
at the bottom with 2 points from 2
defeats. “I tried to relief the standing
players and use the reserve players to
allow them to get the experience and
also to allow the main line up to get
rest before the finals,” Said Al Ahly
Head Coach, Raouf Abdel Kader. “I think
we will use the same system tomorrow
against Motemba but
with a chance for the main line up. The
stars of my team today were Marwa Yassin
and Hagar Badr.” He added.
Azur Head Coach, Guito Lepoigneur was
not sad of the defeat because he is
working for the future as most of his
players are youngsters. “We had problems
in our reception which didn’t allow us
to apply our strategy. Our objective in
this competition is to get experience
enough for the next competition because
we had six players less than 20 years
who will improve in future.” The coach
of the organizers said. In the same
pool, KC Bank of Kenya used all the
volleyball skills to pull of a respected
victory over Mtemba Pembe of Congo RD
3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-14) in 63 minutes.
The Match scorer with 16 points Jackline
Barasa and the setter Rodah Khaenzeli
played the greatest role in the victory.
The first victory put KC Bank in a good
situation twards qualification to the
semifinal spot before their last match
in the preliminary round today against
the organizers Azur. The victory
put KC Bank second in the pool with
three points “We started the match
poorly due to the effort the players did
in the yesterday’s match against Al Ahly
and we needed sometimes to come to the
match. My setter Rodah and middle
blocker Jackline Barasa managed to play
the main role in this victory which
makes us near a semifinal
spot,” Said KC Bank Head Coach, Paul
Bitok after the matchMotemba Pembe had a
psychological problem before the match
as the players didn’t receive their
perdeim. “Today we had a psychological
problem before the match because the
players didn’t take their money so they
stayed up to 2 a.m. without sleeping.
The Kenyan team is not
stronger than us but they were more
concentrating.” Said Motemba Pembe Head
Coach, Mawa Vicky.Kenya Pipelines used
some of the bench players to clinch a
straight sets victory (25-15, 25-20,
25-15) over Vallijee Citizens of
Mauritius to secure a semifinal vacancy
in Pool B. Although Citizen Players
struggled a lot all through the match,
Piplines experienced Stars Catherine
Wanjiru, Esther Jepkosdei and Lucy Chege
came on time in each set to win the
match. Sonel of Cameroon used the strong
attackers and the spike service to
achieve a straight sets victory (25-16,
25-13, 25-18) over Mafolofolo of
Botswana in 59 minutes. Sonel used the
high performance of the wing spiker Ngo
Rebecca which came the match scorer with
12 points.“We used the strong service to
disturb our opponents from the start of
the match and we succeeded to apply our
strategy of attacking using our taller
players by the net. My player Rebecca
Ngo was the star of this match.” Said
Sonel Head coach, Joseph Nane.
Mafolofolo Head coach, Kabo Ntshinogang
commented that It was difficult for his
players to stop the strong service of
Cameroon team and also their strong
attacks because they had more experience
and stronger than his players. “Our
objective now is to get the 5th position
in this competition.” He added. Thursday
Matches
The competition day three will feature
on Thursday four matches at the end of
the preliminary round setting the
qualifying teams to the semifinal. In
Pool A, Al Ahly of Egypt meets Motema
Pembe of Congo RD and KC Bank plays the
organizing team Azur of Mauritius. Pool
B will show Kenya Pipelines vs.
Mafolofolo of Botswana and
Sonel of Cameroon vs. V.
Citizens of Mauritius
The Favorite Teams Set Critical
Victories
Vacoas, Mauritius, April 18-: The big
favorite teams Al Ahly of Egypt and
Pipelines of Kenya achieved both
comfortable victories in their opening
matches of the twenty first African
Clubs Champions Championship here at Le
Quorum hall in Rose Hill on Tuesday.
Both teams clinched critical win over
their most competitive group opponent.
Al Ahly defeated the emerging KC Bank
team of Kenya, while Pipelines swept
Sonel of Cameroon to become both the
nearest to the top of their pools.
Mafolofolo of Botswana achieved a
thriller victory over Vallijee Citizens.
The defending champions Pipelines used a
mixture of experienced and young players
to pull off a straight sets victory over
the struggling Sonel of Cameroon 25-10,
25-21, 25-21 in 63 minutes in
competition Pool B. The winners head
coach had some tactical substitutions
which led the match to his side. The
super star and the last competition most
valuable player Catherine Wanjiru played
a great role of this victory not only
with her 15 points scored but also with
her defense and leadership.
“The match was interesting due to the
strong competition between both teams
but we are happy to win the match in
straight sets,” said Pipelines Head
Coach, David Lungaho. “I made a critical
substitution in the third set replacing
the setter so we could win the set and
the match. I tried to play with the some
young players to give them the
experience in such big competitions. The
stars of my team in the match were
Catherine Wanjiru, Lydiah Maiyo and the
setter Judith Serenge.” He added.
Sonel Head Coach, Joseph Nane Eone Said
that it was a difficult match against a
strong opponent because most of Sonel
players lack the international
experience of such matches. “I think we
will improve in the coming matches.” He
added.
Al Ahly of Egypt used the strong
backline defense and the experience of
the stars Tahani Tosson, Yosra Abdel
Karim and Noran Maghawry to clinch an
important victory over the emerging KC
Bank of Kenya 3-0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-20)
in 63 minutes of exciting volleyball. Al
Ahly missed one of the key stars
Sherihan Sameh which compained of fever
before the match so the head Coach used
the setter yosra Abdel Karim as a wing
spiker. Tehani came as the match beast
scorer with her 16 points scored to lead
the overall competition best scorers.
“This match was the most important for
us in our pool so we played to win in
order not to meet Pipelines in the
semifinal,” Said Al Ahly Head Coach,
Raouf Abdel Kader happily after the
match. “Our tactics in this match
depended on using the service to prevent
the opponent from good reception and use
the tall players by the net so we
succeeded to do it. I congratulate Yosra
Abdel Karim for her high performance in
the match although she played as a
spiker not in her original position as a
setter and also the great performance of
the team captain Tahani Tosson.” He
added.
KC Bank Head Coach, Paul Bitok commented
that the match was very exciting due to
the big number of stars in both teams
but we lost because most of my players
don’t have enough experience. “The
period which inverted the match was when
we were leading and Al Ahly player no.
14 (Hagar Badr) had five successive
services to turn the first set and after
that Al Ahly completely led the match.”
Bitok concluded.
In what is described the match of the
day Mafolofolo of Botswana came from one
set behind to pull off an exciting
victory over Vallijee Citizens of
Mauritius 3-1 in 89 minutes full of
volleyball thrills (14-25, 25-23, 25-20,
25-20) in Pool B. Both teams played a
good match
Wednesday Matches
The competition will show 4 matches on
Wednesday in both competition pools.
pool A will feature a solid clash
between KC Bank of Kenya and Motemba
Pembe of Congo RD, while Al Ahly meets
the organizers Azur of Maritius. In pool
B Sonel of Cameroon plays Mafolofolo of
Botswana and Pipelines vs. V. Citizens.
Day
One
The Organizers Lost in the opening
Vacoas, Mauritius, April 17-: The
Organizers, Azur Sports Club of
Mauritius lost their first match against
the super Motemba Pembe of Congo RD in
front of their spectators to put the
organizing country in a critical
situation in Pool A of the twenty first
African Clubs Champions Championship
here at Le Quorum hall in Rose Hill on
Monday.
The opening ceremony was attended by
many Guests of honor led by Mauritius
Minister of Youth and sports Mr. Sylvio
Tang, Mayor of Beau- Bassin Rose Hill
Mr. Varen Andee, the Egyptian ambassador
Mr. Bakry Rosushdy Elammary, Mauritius
National Olympic Committee President Mr.
Chintamun Ramboccus, First African
Volleyball Confederation Vice President
Mr. Tubby Reddy, Mauritius Volleyball
Federation President Mr. Kaysee
Teeroovengadum and CAVB Technical
Director Mrs. Howyda Mondy.
Mauritius Volleyball Federation
President Mr. Kaysee Teeroovengadum
declared in his speech that all
volleyball Family in Mauritius as well
as the participating countries and Zone
7 under his presidency declare the full
support to the candidature of Dr. Ruben
Acosta to FIVB Presidency. He also
thanked CAVB President Dr. Amr Elwani
for his great work for African
volleyball
Motemba used well the mistakes made by
Azur to clinch the victory in straight
sets in 80 minutes. Motemba used the
international stars Inoku Lombe, Nzekika
Nzazi, Senga Makengo to lead the match
all through by dominating the net and
using the reception mistakes of Azur.
“We are here to compete for the cup so
we played to have our first victory
against the organizer,” Said Motemba
Head Coach, Vicky Mawa. “My team played
well in the first set so when we won it
we proceed to have the match in straight
sets. My best players were Bofeyi,
Nzazi, Makingo and Lombe.” He added.
Azur Head Coach, Guito Lepoigneur Said
“Our opponent was very good in spiking
and blocking so they dominated the match
and actually this made the difference.
My team’s reception was not good so we
lost many points by our mistakes.”
· Tuesday matches:
The competition will show three matches
at Le Quorum hall in Rose Hill on
Tuesday as the last competition runner
up Al Ahly meets KC Bank of Kenya in
pool A. while Pool B will feature a
strong confrontation between the
defending champions Pipelines of Kenya
and Sonel of Cameroon and another clash
between the Mafolofolo of Botswana vs.
Vallijee Citizens of Mauritius.
All
the Big Forces compete for the
Prestigious Women Title
Vacoas, Mauritius, April 16-: The
drawing of lots of the twenty first
Women’s African Clubs Champions
Championship featured the organizers,
Azur Beaubassin in Competition pool A
with the last competition runner up Al
Ahly, KC Bank of Kenya and DC Mtemba
Pembe of Congo RD. Pool B will show the
defending champions, Pipelines of Kenya,
Vallijee Citizens of Mauritius, Sonel of
Cameroon and Mafolofolo of Botswana.
All the participating countries send
their support to the Candidature of Dr.
Ruben Acosta for the FIVB Presidency
during the next congress in Japan 2006
The opening ceremony will be held at Le
Quorum hall in Rose Hill on Monday
followed by the opening match between
the organizers Azur and Motemba Pembe.
Teams of each pool will play a round
robin followed by Semifinal matches
between the first two qualifiers from
each pool.
The competition will feature all the big
forces on the women’s club level in the
continent including the last
competitions three teams of the final
podium; the defending champions
Pipelines which won the title a record
of six times, the runner up Al Ahly who
won 4 cups before and the bronze
medalists Kenya Commercial bank as well
as many experienced teams like Azur of
Mauritius, the runner up of Zone 7
Champions Club Cup in Madagascar 2005
and the semifinalist of the 2004 edition
and Vallijee Citizens which played in
the semifinal of 2005 Zone 7 club cup.
The matches will be held in two venues;
Pandit Sahadeo Gymansium (PSG) in Vacoas
which hosted before the 2006 World
Championship qualifications and Le
Quorum Hall in Rose Hill.
As volleyball is a popular sport in
Mauritius many media are covering the
competitions including the daily
newspapers, press agencies and also TV
coverage will be available.
As the Kenyan teams are usually big
favorites in the continental women’s
level, The star studded Pipeline under
the tutelage of coach David Lung’aho
have been in serious training at their
indoor gymnasium in Karura before
arriving to Vacoas last Friday, while
KCB coached by Paul Bitok has pitched
camp at the indoor gymnasium at Moi
International Sports Centre Kasarani.
In order to successfully defend the
title which they won in Nairobi last
year, Pipelines head coach, Lung’aho has
injected young blood in the team and he
hopes that they will battle it out with
the established players for the final
selection in the field. Among the
veterans in the Pipeline squad are
libero Mercy Wesitula, Janet Wanja,
Catherine Wanjiru, Judy Serenge, Lucy
Chege and Pamela Chemutai.
In the KCB camp, coach Bitok said he
will be relying heavily on national team
player Salome Wanjala and libero Jane
Tarus to lead his squad in chase for the
continental title which they are aiming
to win for the first time
Al Ahly team coming as one of the big
favorites for the title had a
concentrated training programme in Egypt
following their matches in the Egyptian
league they won in the last ten years.
Again the head coach, Raouf Abdel Kader
will rely on the most experienced
volleyball player in Africa, Tahany
Tosson who has in her hands more than
ten African titles at the club and
national team levels as well as more
than 20 MVP (Most Valuable Player)
prizes. Other promising stars are
Sherihan Sameh who led Egypt twice to
Junior and Youth World Championships,
the national team Setter Yosra Abdel
Karim, the libero Sara Talaat and the
youngsters Hagar Badr and Noha Mahmoud.
The host team Azur and their Arch Rivals
Vallijee Citizens were training
regularly before the competition to
compete in the most prestigious African
club competition. Azur, the Mauritius
Champions depends on their team star and
Captain, Maita Bassy as well as the
National team players Jannique Louis and
Anja AH-YU. Vallijee including five
stars on the Mauritius National team
will be a good team to follow up through
the main key players, Marie Samy,
Veronique Antoo, Sandrine Jery, Sharmila
Mungur and Stephanie Petit.
The competition showed a last minute
withdraw of one of the big favorites,
Bijaia team of Algeria, while University
of Rwanda and FAP of Cameroon are
considered ineligible for their delayed
arrival.
Kenya Pipeline, KCB intensify training
for Club Championships
Vacoas, Mauritius-: Defending champions
Kenya Pipeline and Kenya Commercial Bank
ladies teams have intensified their
training for African Women Volleyball
Club Championships to be held in
Mauritius starting from Monday. The star
studded Pipeline under the tutelage of
coach David Lung’aho have been in
serious training at their indoor
gymnasium in Karura while KCB coached by
Paul Bitok has pitched camp at the
indoor gymnasium at Moi International
Sports Centre Kasarani.In order to
successfully defend the title which they
won in Nairobi last year, coach Lung’aho
has injected young blood in the team and
he hopes that they will battle it out
with the established players for the
final selection.“The new players in the
team have been responding well to
training and if they keep up the tempo
chances are that I may be forced to make
some major changes before we depart for
Mauritius,” said Lunga’ho.He stated that
the senior players in the team who turn
out for the national women volleyball
team are also doing well in training
since they know too well that any slip
ups may see them dropped from the
tournament in Mauritius.Among the
veterans in the Pipeline squad are
libero Mercy Wesitula, Janet Wanja,
Catherine Wanjiru, Judy Serenge, Lucy
Chege and Pamela Chemutai while Wanja
Kanyi is the Team Manager. In the KCB
camp, coach Bitok said he will be
relying heavily on national team player
Salome Wanjala and libero Jane Tarus to
lead his squad in chase for the
continental title which they are aiming
to win for the first time.“Having won a
bronze medal during our first attempt in
Nairobi last year, their time round we
are eyeing the gold and it will be
suicidal for our opponents to underrate
us before the final whistle is blown,”
said Bitok. He said so far the girls
have shown determination in training and
he will name his finals squad just
before the team jets out to Mauritius
since the competition in training is too
close to call at this point in time. “I
have some new faces in the team and if
they prove themselves definitely they
will be on the plane to Mauritius,”
Bitok said.Kenya has dominated the women
Club Championships title with both
Nairobi Posta (Telkom) and Pipeline
winning it more than any other team in
Africa.
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