TOUGH PLAY-OFFS: Nairobi Water camps in Mombasa ahead of tough volleyball encounter

R Kipkurui (18) and team-mate D. Mokua (right) of Prisons attempts to block a spike by S. Bitok (15) of GSU in the second volleyball men's match as the Kenya Volleyball Federation national play-offs got underway at the KPA Makande Gym, November 27, 2015. GSU won 3-1. [PHOTO BY GIDEON MAUNDU/STANDARD].

Nairobi Water men’s volleyball team is not in Mombasa on holiday, and has sent warnings to their opponents that they should be ready for humiliation when the national volleyball play-offs start tomorrow in Mombasa.

“We shall be facing teams, which we beat in the league season and we are set to maintain our good run,” said the team coach John Mwaniki.

“We have camped in Mombasa since Saturday to acclimatise and we are ready for the challenge ahead,” added Mwaniki in an interview in Mombasa.

“Our first game is against Prisons and we are not worried about them because we outplayed them during league series,” said Mwaniki.

He said he has been handling the team for the past two years and has assembled a strong team to face his opponents.

“We finished the league in the second position behind General Service Unit (GSU) and our focus is to win the play-offs and qualify for Africa Club championship,” said the coach.

The same confidence has also been expressed by KPA Team coach-cum-player James Ontere who said his team is determined to upset their opponents.

According to the fixture, KPA play GSU in the first match before facing Nairobi Water and Prisons in the second and third matches respectively.

General Service Unit (GSU), Nairobi Water, Kenya Prisons and Kenya Ports Authority will be chasing the men’s KVF title after they qualified for the national play off but missing in action will be regular participant, Kenya Defence Forces.

KDF were beaten by KPA in a four-set thriller, 3-1 (25-18, 24-26, 25-22, 25-19) in men’s crucial decider match in Eldama Ravine. This will be the first time in the history of KDF that they will be missing the playoff in any of the season they have featured in the KVF league.

In the women’s category, title chasers will be Kenya Prisons, Kenya Pipeline, Nairobi Water and Kenya Commercial Bank.

Interestingly, Nairobi Water will be making their debut in the playoff.

Kenya Pipeline women and Kenya Prisons men teams are the reigning national champions after winning the last playoffs in Mombasa. However, former women’s national champions Kenya Prisons are unbeaten and Pipeline have no option but to look for new strategies in advance to contain Prisons when they meet in Mombasa.