Kenya's dream of trophy dashed as Rwanda's REG drown KPA

KPA players try to block an attack from Nemo Stars during a Round of 16 tie at the CAVB Men's Club Championships in Kigali, Rwanda on April 29, 2026. [Courtesy CAVB]

Kenya’s hopes of winning a maiden Confederation of Africa Volleyball (CAVB) Men’s Club Championship title were shattered yesterday after Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) crashed out of the competition in the quarter-finals.

As the only Kenyan side still standing following the purge of league champions the General Service Unit (GSU) and Equity Bank in the round of 16, the dreams of an entire nation weighed heavily on the dockers shoulders.

However, the gods of volleyball seemed to have other plans as they favoured homeboys Rwanda Energy Group (REG) who had everything going for them.

With odds against them, going against REG at their own BK Arena was a toll order for the Kenyans who put up a spirited fight but eventually bowed to pressure to succumb to a 3-1 defeat. Buoyed by home support and their group stage win against GSU, REG were favourites on paper and court in spite of KPA’s relentless fight.  

The dockers who had advanced to the quarter-finals after dismissing Group A winners Nemostars from Uganda fought tooth and nail challenging the homeboys in a neck-to-neck first set battle.

REG would eventually outlast them to take a 1-0 lead with a 28-26 set score. The Rwandese power providers were more tactical in the second set, avoiding unnecessary errors and utilising every opportunity to score points.

Their efforts paid off as they took the set 25-18 to take a 2-0 lead. However, determined not to go down without a proper fight, KPA did not let that dampen their spirits as they fought on to pull one back by winning the set 25-17.

That set the stage for a thrilling battle in the fourth set as REG sought to kill the game and secure their semi-finals slot while KPA pushed themselves in a bid to level the score to push the encounter to the decisive fifth set.

The fourth set was a grueling see-saw affair with each team responding to every point that the opponent scored. With stakes higher than ever before, the two sides were unyielding but it was the Rwandese who snatched it 30-28 thanks to home support to secure a last four slot.

REG’s win assured Rwanda of a home team playing in the final for they would take on the winner of the Rwanda Police and Kepler Volleyball Club quarter’s duel in the semi-final.

Having exited the title race, the Kenyan sides will seek consolation in classification matches. KPA will face off with other quarter-final losers in the fifth to eighth place seeding matches while GSU and Equity Bank can battle to finish in top 10 in the ninth to 16th place placement encounters. GSU lost 3-1(23-25, 25-23, 28-26, 25-19) to Kepler in the round of 16.