Team closes in on games ticket: Win over Egypt clears path to All Africa Games

The national women’s volleyball team has inched closer to securing a berth in this year’s All Africa Games set for September in Brazzaville, Congo.

The Malkia Strikers served off on a high note with a 3-1 win over arch-rivals Egypt in the opening match of the CAVB Zone Five qualifiers played at the MTN Arena in Kampala, Uganda, on Tuesday evening. This enabled them to set one foot in the continental showpiece.

Head coach David Lung’aho was impressed with the girls’ performance, saying a victory against the North Africans had boosted their confidence as they tackle the remaining opponents.

Egypt is seen as the main threat in the zone that also contains Ethiopia, hosts Uganda and Burundi. Rwanda, which is handled by Kenyan Paul Bitok and considered another threat, pulled out of the qualifiers.

“Egypt was our main concern, but with them down the title is ours to win or lose. That victory has increased our confidence and we are determined to grab that slot to Brazzaville,” Lungaho told Feverpitch by phone from Kampala.

The Kenyan queens took the first set 25-16. However, they lost their footing in the second set, losing 21-25. They recovered to recapture the third set by the same margin and sealed the victory 25-20 in the fourth set.

Lung’aho noted that their focus had shifted to the remaining matches, with a conquest against Uganda top on their agenda. He pointed out that a victory against the host nation would be a plus as the Ugandans had also displayed excellent skills in their tie against Burundi on Tuesday.

“We desire to conquer Uganda in their backyard. We have not played them in very many years, it is a new side and we don’t know their game plan, which makes us eager to beat them,” he said.

Uganda did not disappoint their home fans as they handed neighbours Burundi a rude welcome, handing them a straight sets loss of 25-14, 25-8, 25-11.

Lung’aho was full of praise for the youngsters, among them Edith Wisa who he said had played very well. But he cautioned his charges not be over-confident as they could only be crowned after they had successfully played all their matches.

“One is down but we can’t start our celebrations yet. A victory in each match counts,” Lungaho said ahead of last night’s match against Ethiopia.

His sentiments were echoed by team captain and long-serving national team setter Janet Wanja, who said they could not assume it was over with the first conquest.

“It is a good start, but we can’t afford to lose focus and assume we have already won the title. Our work has just begun and the remaining matches are more important because they will determine if we bring home the trophy and also go to the All Africa Games,” Wanja said.