Wacu full of praise for late bloomer Lusenaka

Veteran setter Jane Wacu believes Joy Lusenaka has come of age if her exploits at the just concluded African Olympic qualifiers in Yaoundé, Cameroon are anything to go by.

Lusenaka, who has over the years played second fiddle to the experienced duo of Wacu and Janet Wanja in previous events, finally got a break through during the Cameroon event.

The Kenya Prisons’ setter last played for the national team during the 11th African Games in Congo, Brazzaville, in 2015 and since then she has always been overlooked.

But it was her exploits during the third set of the first match against Egypt where the East Africans were trailing the North Africans with eight scores that the coach Paul Bitok rested Wacu for Lusenaka and the move paid off as Kenya eventual won the set and the match 3-1.

Wacu said that was a clear indication that Lusenaka, who is the current Kenya Volleyball Federation national league best setter, has more to offer.

“Ahead of the qualifiers, I knew I was to go the extra mile in the setting position since I was used to partnering with Wanja who, unfortunately, had opted out of the team due to personal reasons. I was jittery prior to event. Here we were missing the services of injured Triza Atuka and Wanja,” said Wacu, who is attached to club Anse Royale (ARSU) of Seychelles.

“My record against Egypt hasn’t been good and I was not surprised when I was rested. I’m glad Lusenaka took the chance and rose to the occasion and that means she is now ripe for the national team duties. However, I hope that she will now prove her worth at the African Club Championships as that will give her more confidence.”

Asked about the team qualifying for the Olympics after a 16-year hiatus Wacu said: “I hope the players that have made this a reality will be given the first priority. But this doesn’t mean the said players should not give their all in training to justify their selection. However, should any player outside those who qualified for the event show they deserve a place in the team, then she must be given a chance.”

Wacu was, however, coy when asked whether she will call it a day after competing in the 2020 Tokyo Games.

“This is the ultimate goal for any sportsman and I’m not any different. But I will see what happens thereafter. I actually had saved up some money to attend the bonanza if the team had not qualified but I’m just happy that I will be going to the event.”

“Bitok has also brought in something different and the results are there for everyone to see.”