Wardresses’ firm grip on Africa volleyball

By Oscar Pilipili

There is no doubt Kenya Prisons women’s volleyball team is the best outfit in feminine category in Africa at the moment.

Winning African Clubs Championship five times in six years and national league six times within the same period underlines the pedigree of the team as volleyball greats.

Prisons furthermore are the only team that has represented Africa in the FIVB Women’s World Club Championships since the event was restarted in 2009.

So what has kept the wardresses growing stronger and stronger? A combination of several factors places Prisons at the top of the game in Africa.

The unity of the team forms the strong foundation that has seen them hit heights. The players wield massive experience as they have been actively involved in international volleyball over a long time.

The players include Bracksides Agala, Elizabeth Wafula, Salome Wanjala, Lydia Maiyo, Diana Khisa, Everline Makuto, Jane Wacu and Mercy Moim.

These players have participated in major tournaments like FIVB World Cup, World Championships and World Clubs Games thus gained vital exposure that counts when they play in Africa.

The players’ background also reveals that most of them have played either on same or different sides of the net during their school time.

Over 80 per cent of players in the current team are all from Lugulu High School that is one of the most successful volleyball playing institutions in the country.

A few exceptions include setter  Wacu, who schooled at Tetu High in Nyeri County.

Khisa, who is the team’s captain, concurs that the unity they have developed over years has partly contributed to their successes in the sport.

The latest stars from Lugulu are libero Wafula, Dorcas Jepleting, Joan Chelagat and Jane Jepkemboi, who are steadily gaining ground in the team.

Prisons players boast of professional-like programme with long training hours, which gives them an added advantage over teams like Nairobi Water whose practice hours are limited.

Unless other teams move with lightning speed countering Prisons advances could prove impossible in future.