Laiser hill through to finals

Laiser Hill Academy of Metropolitan Region hit Kathungi of Highlands Region 2-0 to increase their chances of winning this year’s Airtel Rising Stars Secondary Schools national football title in a semi-final match at Machakos School yesterday.

Edwin Ochieng’ and Kennedy Mwangi scored for Laiser Hill in the 69th and 83rd minutes to secure their last final spot. They will meet Passenga of Aberdare, who sent giants Kisumu Day 4-3 in penalties after their match ended in a one-all draw in extra time.

Both teams also qualified for the regional tournament and will be making a debut to the Brookside East Africa Games to be held in Rwanda from August 15-22. Laiser Hill are the only team yet to drop a point, having won all their matches.

Laiser Hill coach Antony Kirimi lauded his boys’ efforts. “No one expected us to get this far, but my boys have proved their worth,” Kirimi said.

The tie will be a repeat of their Group A match that saw Laiser Hill conquer Passenga 2-1. However, Passenga coach Joram Mwangi is upbeat that they will avenge their loss. “We will fight tooth and nail to turn the tables and avenge a loss we don’t want them to beat us twice,” he said.

In the girls contest, former national champions Wiyeta of Nzoia made use of their appeal against St John’s that was ruled in their faovour to book a finals date with Kobala of Lake. Wiyeta beat Nginda Girls of Aberdare 3-1 to book a return to the East Africa scene, while Kobala edged out 2013 champions Olympic 1-0.

Volleyball queens Kwanthanze of Metropolitan Region are a match away from retaining their national title.

The two-time champions beat Tetu Girls of Aberdare 3-0 (25-16 25-16 25-17) in the semis tie to book a finals date with the hard-hitting AIC Kosirai girls of Mau Region.

The win ensured the reigning East Africa champions a ticket to Rwanda in a quest to defend their regional trophy.

Captain Teresa Akai, Everline Nzilani and Lilian Lelei led the onslaught with their attacks while Winnie Mwikali and Beldine Akinyi were excellent in blocks. Kwanthanze head coach Justine Kigwari was optimistic that his girls will play their best game and hold on to the title.

“My girls are well aware that pressure is on us as champions, our opponents are out to snatch the titles but we are determined to hold on to it,” Kigwari told Feverpitch.

Kosirai on the other hand put up a hard fight against former champions Lugulu Girls of Nzoia Region to win in straight sets of 25-20, 25-22 and 27-25 in a tightly contested encounter.

Kosirai head coach Richard Soi attributed their win to the growth and improvement his players have made since the beginning of the competition.

“The title is within our reach now because my girls have improved their basic skills since their first match, our ball collection, reception and blocks are better now am confident they will be excel in the finals,”Soi said.

Boys defending champions Malava Boys meet 2013 champions Hospital Hill in a quest to be crowned champions. Malava had no problem sailing through as they dismissed rivals Cheptil (25-13 25-22 25-18), however it was not the same for Hospital Hill as they were stretched to a 3-2(22-25 25-23 24-26 25-12 15-7).

Today’s fixtures

Boys’ football

Playoffs, Kisumu Day v Kathungi

Finals, Laiser Hill v Passenga

Girls’ football,

Playoffs, Olympic v Nginda

Finals, Wiyeta v Kobala

Boys Volleyball

Playoffs, Cheptil v Mivumoni

Finals, Malava v Cheptil

Girls’ volleyball

Playoffs, Lugulu v Tetu

Finals, Kwanthanze v Kosirai