Focus shifts to knockout stage as trophy hunt takes shape

The fight for the second edition of the Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) Kenya Cup title gathered momentum over the weekend as teams battled for a better placement in their pools ahead of the knockout stage.

In the men’s title hunt, Chema Volleyball Club and Kenya Prisons won their last preliminary ties to secure maximum points and top their pools.

Chema beat Trailblazers Club 3-1 (25-14, 25-19, 20-25, 25-23) to top Group B with nine points. The warders, on the other hand, ended their group stage assignment with a 25-21, 25-18 and 25-23 win against Kenya Navy to lead Group D with maximum points.

Equity Bank, who beat the National Youth Service (NYS) 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-16) in their last pool encounter, finished second with six, while NYS, who won one and Navy, who lost all their matches, finished third and fourth in Group D, respectively.

Novices Bunge Volleyball Club launched their Kenya Cup quest with a straight sets win over Administration Police of Kenya (AP-Kenya).

They, however, fumbled in their second Group B duel, falling 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-21) to Kenya Airport Police Unit (KAPU) yesterday.

They will take on pool leaders, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA), who were not in action this weekend at a later date.

The Dockers won their two encounters against AP-Kenya and KAPU and will maintain the top spot regardless of the outcome of the duel against Bunge.

Women’s defending champions KCB Bank and first edition finalists Kenya Pipeline topped their respective groups after winning all their matches.

The bankers topped Group A with eight points ahead of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) who had seven points from two wins and a defeat in a five-set thriller against KCB.

Prisons, who lost to KCB in straight sets of 25-11, 25-16 and 25-18 in their last pool match, finished third with two points while rookies A-Plus who ended their preliminaries with a victory finished at the bottom of the standings.

In Group B, Pipeline, who are having a great season, beat the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) 3-1 to maintain their unbeaten run.

The oil merchants were dominant from the onset taking the first and second sets 25-17 and 25-16. However, the soldiers refused to go down without a proper fight and pulled one set back in a see-saw affair that ended 26-24.

The Oilers then recovered to kill off the game in the fourth set 25-22 and consolidate their top spot with nine points.

Kenya Cup first edition bronze medallists Kenya Prisons dismissed Postbank 3-0 (25-16, 25-13, 25-23 to register their second win and finish second in the pool with six points.

KDF ranked third with two while Postbank led from the wrong end with a point secured from their defeat to the soldiers.