Kenya men’s volleyball team under pressure to match Malkia strikers
What you need to know:
- The men team, as opposed to their women counterparts, the African Queens, have failed to sparkle in the continent and face the Herculean task of impressing an expectant Nation that was recently in exuberance after the Queens under coach David Lung’aho won their maiden global crown – the 2015 FIVB World Grand Prix – in Canberra, Australia.
- The global feat came in the wake of bagging a ninth continental title at the Safaricom Indoor Arena, where they beat Algeria in empathic fashion, winning by three straight sets (25-17, 25-21, 25-20) in a CAVB women Africa Cup of Nations on June 20.
The 2015 Men Volleyball African Cup of Nations begins on Tuesday in Cairo, Egypt with the Kenyan team holding high the dream of doing well in the competition.
The men team, as opposed to their women counterparts, the African Queens, have failed to sparkle in the continent and face the Herculean task of impressing an expectant Nation that was recently in exuberance after the Queens under coach David Lung’aho won their maiden global crown – the 2015 FIVB World Grand Prix – in Canberra, Australia.
The global feat came in the wake of bagging a ninth continental title at the Safaricom Indoor Arena, where they beat Algeria in empathic fashion, winning by three straight sets (25-17, 25-21, 25-20) in a CAVB women Africa Cup of Nations on June 20.
On the other hand, the Male Team’s best performance is a bronze medal earned in 2010, at the All African Games in Maputo, Mozambique.
In an interview with Daily Nation Sport on Tuesday, Kenyan Volleyball Federation boss, Waithaka Kioni, said that the team had had proper preparations prior to their departure and is optimistic of a good outing.
“It will be a big feat to beat Algeria or Morocco because they are teams with indoor training facilities and players plying their trade in Europe.
In terms of infrastructure, they are miles ahead of us and if we can stop them, then it will be major achievement,” he said.
“We are giving the male team as much support as we can. We want to see if they can improve on their performance. We are trying to get them a sponsor, but again the sponsors want results, so it is a challenge on them to perform,” he added.
The squad of 12 under coach Geoffrey Omondi left the county on Monday.
Kenya, is however likely to land some of the continental powerhouses.
Host Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, and Cameroon will all be participating.
Others are Botswana, Mauritius and Rwanda. Omondi and his assistants Gideon Tarus and David Muthui will count on the coherence of the team, while dependable Philip Maiyo should play a key role.
THE SQUAD
Philip Maiyo, Dennis Mokua, James Ontere, Wesley Rono, David Kirwa, Faustine Barasa, Gideon Kiprono, Elias Aliwa, Daniel Kiptoo, Hudson Wanyama, Michael Chemos and Michael Njoroge.
Mr Evans Wasike is the Head of Delegation/Team Manager.
International Referee - John Odundo.
