VOLLEYBALL: National league action now heads to Nakuru

[PHOTO: COURTESY]

A total of 26 matches are scheduled for tomorrow during the final leg of the national volleyball league in Nakuru.

The event at Afraha Stadium will also serve as the Nakuru County Volleyball Championships.

The league matches will be followed by the County Championships, which have been sponsored by Nakuru County Government. They will be on Saturday and Sunday.

This comes after Kenya’s participation in the World women volleyball Championships in Japan where Malkia Strikers made history after bagging their victory in the global showpiece.

They defeated Kazakhstan 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-21) at the 8,000-seater Hamamatsu Arena.

All players who featured in the global showpiece are expected to represent their respective clubs in the league championships as battle for slots to the national play-offs takes shape.

A technical meeting for all league clubs has been scheduled for tomorrow morning at 8am ahead of the matches.

Twenty one men and five women matches will be played in seven different fields.

Defending champions General Service Unit open their campaign against NAKS in the first seven matches that serve-off at 9am.

Meanwhile, the Kenya Volleyball Federation national league play-offs return to Nairobi County next month after a five-year absence.

The three-day event will be held at Kasarani Gymnasium after attracting sponsorship from Kenya Commercial Bank.

Nairobi last staged the tournament in 2013 at Kasarani before it moved to Mombasa's Makande KPA Hall, where it was held for five consecutive years.

According to a source at KVF, the decision to hold the play-offs at Kasarani has been necessitated by the sponsors’ assurance to cater for the gymnasium’s hiring fees.

To hire the gymnasium, one has to part with a daily fee of Sh75,000 (Sh50,000-hiring and Sh25,000-floodlights).

“It has been easy to host the play-offs in Mombasa because the KPA Hall is not expensive. In addition, we usually receive a fee waiver. But this year, it will be at Kasarani," the source told Standard Sports

"There is a sponsor, who has come on board and has promised to cater for the venue expenses."

At the same time, Kenya Pipeline coach Japheth Munala says he will be using tomorrow’s final national league leg in Nakuru as part of the champions’ preparations for the play-offs.

“It doesn’t matter whom we are going to play, but our focus is on the play-offs. We know it will be tough, but we are ready to face any team,” said Munala.