Soweto Academy thirsts for national volleyball glory
What you need to know:
- The Kibera-based school will fly the regional flag at the national games set for early next month in Kisumu.
After clinching their maiden volleyball title in Metropolitan Region over the weekend, Soweto Academy have now their sights on lifting their first national crown.
Soweto defeated Two-time East Africa and national champions Kwanthanze Girls 3-2 (27-25, 17-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-13) in a thrilling final played at the Nyayo National Stadium last Saturday.
It was their first win over the Machakos County School since the teams first clashed in 2013 during Metropolitan finals in Makindu. Kwanthanze went on to win the next two finals in 2014 and 2015 before Soweto upset the form book this year.
NATIONAL GAMES
The Kibera-based school will fly the regional flag at the national games set for early next month in Kisumu.
“The girls have long suffered at the hands of Kwanthanze. We finally broke the jinx and we head to the nationals with confidence of winning the title,” Soweto coach and principal Joseph Makabwa said on Tuesday.
Makabwa said he watched the videos of their previous losses to Kwanthanze and finally discovered that his team lost out to their rivals due to poor positioning of the libero.
“All our finals against Kwanthanze have always been close and ended with us losing due to the smallest of margins. This year, we rectified the mistakes and we finally got our hands on the title,” he added.
The team, nicknamed "The Mighty Minnows", enjoy the coaching services of Kenya Prisons setters Sally Wanjala and Florence Moraa while National team coach David Lung’aho is their technical director.
The duo were present on Saturday to watch Soweto finally get the better of nemesis at the fourth attempt. Soweto won the first set 27-25 after impressive performances from their setters.
Kwanthanze would however return to win the next two sets to take a 2-1 lead going into the fourth set.
Soweto dug deep to level the tie after winning a nerve-racking fourth set 25-22. In the deciding set, both teams gave their all with the title and ticket to the nationals at stake. Kwanthanze were 12-10 up, needing three points to win it.
However, Soweto came back to draw 12-12 before going ahead only for their opponents to get another point. The Nairobi-based side was not to be denied as they took the next two points to clinch the title.
The school has close to two weeks to prepare before they head to the nationals where they will be hoping to create more history.
