Ruthless Kenya demolish wobbly Senegal in Under-23 tourney
Kenya's Under-23 players celebrate after beating Botswana in the Africa Under-23 Nations Championship at Kasarani Indoor Arena on October 23, 2016. PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU |
What you need to know:
- Senegal, who have not won any of their games, started strongly and raced to a 8-7 lead at the first time out.
- Malkia Juniors will take a rest on Wednesday, before taking on Rwanda on the final day of the tournament on Thursday.
The national junior volleyball team bounced back with an emphatic 3-0 (25-17, 25-7, 25-8) victory over Senegal as the Africa Under-23 Nations Championship entered its third day at Safaricom Indoor Arena on Tuesday.
Senegal, who have not won any of their games, started strongly and raced to a 8-7 lead at the first time out. Sensing danger, Malkia Juniors’ coach Catherine Mabwi withdrew libero Celestine Nyongesa for Sarah Were in a bid to consolidate the defence.
The change bore fruit, as Were combined well with setter Veronica Kilabat to score seven quick points to help the hosts to a 16-12 lead at the second time out.
Poor service and unforced errors plagued Senegal, as Kenya displayed sheer superiority to win the first set 25-17.
In the second set, middle blocker Yvonne Sinaida produced an electrifying performance as the Kenyans mounted tight defence to win 25-7.
Try as they could, Senegal could not measure up to the brutal attacks of the hosts, led by left attacker Yvonne Wavinya, showed them no mercy. The visitors were trailing 16-5 in the third set as the teams went for the second technical time out.
Sloppy service and poor coordination cost them big time, as they lost the set 25-8.
Unbeaten Egypt are now the highest ranking team in the round robin tournament, as they have beaten Rwanda and Kenya.
Kenya recovered from a 3-1 loss to Egypt on Monday. Coach Catherine Mabwi blamed the defeat on the absence of captain Beldine Akinyi, who sprained her left ankle in Kenya’s first match against Botswana on Sunday.
“Akinyi has both good height and power. We missed these aspects during the game we lost. Egypt very strong mentally. We still have a chance of qualifying for the World Under 23 Championship. Our prayer now is to win all our matches so that we can finish in second position,” she said.
Malkia Juniors will take a rest on Wednesday, before taking on Rwanda on the final day of the tournament on Thursday.
In the first game, Egypt cruised to an easy 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-21) win over Rwanda to strengthen their chances of finishing top of the pile in the competition.
