Mixed results for GSU, Prisons as Al Ahly clinch record title

Kenyan representatives at the 37th edition of the men’s African Volleyball Club Championship, General Service Unit (GSU) and Kenya Prisons recorded mixed results on the final day of the event at Ahly Hall in Cairo, Egypt on Thursday.

Defending Kenyan league champions GSU overcame Libyan side Ahly Benghazi 3-2 sets of (25-19, 25-18, 21-25, 24-26, 15-11) in the fifth place classification match.

They finished fifth, the best ranking since their silver medal in 2011 while Benghazi concluded sixth.

The Gideon Tarus-coached side led 2-0 before the Libyan side rallied to level 2-2 but Kenyan champions regained their rhythm on time to win the tiebreaker.

In the other ranking match, Prisons lost 3-2 (25-22, 10-25, 19-25, 28-26, 15-7) to Egypt’s Aviation to finish eighth.

Both GSU and Prisons had stormed the quarter-finals after impressive results in the group games.

In the quarters played on April 2, Al Ahly downed GSU 3-1 (25-12, 25-15, 26-28, 25-10), while El Guish of Egypt hammered Prisons 3-0 (25-18, 25-16, 25-20).

Meanwhile, hosts Al Ahly were crowned the 2018 African champions for a record 13th time following their straight sets victory (25-16, 25-23, and 25-14) over El Guish in an all-Egyptian final on Thursday.

Egypt’s Smouha claimed their second bronze medal after registering a 3-2 (25-27, 25-21, 18-25, 29-27, and 15-13) win over Swehly of Libya.

This is the second ever bronze medal for the Egyptian team after 2016 while the Libyan side kept their fourth place in the last three editions.

RANKING MATCHES

Final: Ahly (Egypt) v El Guish (Egypt) 3-0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-14)

Bronze medal: Smouha (Egypt) v Swehly (Libya) 3-2 (25-27, 25-21, 18-25, 29-27, 15-13)

5-6 places: GSU (Kenya) v Ahly Benighazi (Libya) 3-2 (25-19, 25-18, 21-25, 24-26, 15-11)

7-8 places: Aviation (Egypt) v Prisons (Kenya) 3-2 (25-22, 10-25, 19-25, 28-26, 15-7)