GSU, PIPELINE triumph: Paramilitary men and Munala’s troops lift Governor Gachagua Cup

By OSCAR PILIPILI

GSU volleyball team lift trophy as they relish beating KDF to win Governor Gachagua Cup at Ruring’u Stadium, yesterday. [PHOTO: SAMMY MOSE / STANDARD]

The General Service Unit (GSU) and Kenya Pipeline volleyball teams won the men and women’s titles in the Governor Gachagua Cup tournament.

General Service Unit (GSU) maintained winning rhythm to beat Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) 3-1 (25-18, 15-25, 25-18, 25-19) in the men’s final that attracted a huge crowd at Ruring’u Stadium in Nyeri yesterday.

The first set started on a competitive note but GSU gained the first two points to take a 2-0 lead following good combination by Wesley Rono, Benard Musumba and Nicolas Lagat.

Willy Kolum’s successful attack handed KDF their first points to bring the scores to 2-1.

The opening set was closely contested to the first technical time out where GSU led 8-6, but the paramilitary men gained crucial points to open a four points lead at 19-15 before cruising to 25-18 set victory.

The Gachagua Cup tournament victory for GSU came a day after the Nairobi-based team had beaten the Laikipia airmen 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 27-25) in a league match at same venue.

In semi-finals, GSU beat Co-op Bank 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-22) in a match that lasted 1:05 minutes while KDF eliminated Prisons Kenya 3-1 (24-26, 25-21, 25-14, 25-20) in 1:32 minutes.

The teams that exit the contest at quarter-finals were: Kenya Airways, Finlays Naivasha and Forest Rangers.

Women’s final

Pipeline defeated Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) in straight sets of 25-21, 25-18 and 25-20 in women’s final match that lasted 1:08 minutes to claim the trophy.

The bankers put up a brave show in the opening set but the oil merchants used well their experience to score crucial points and win the set 25-21.

Like in the first set, KCB upped their game but they could not stop the onslaught of the star-studded Pipeline outfit that featured the likes of Noel Murambi, Esther Wangeshi, Rizah Atukah and Gaudencia Makokha.

Pipeline coach Japheth Munala said: “When coming to Nyeri, our target was to win all our league fixtures and lift the Gachagua Cup.”

“I’m happy that we’ve achieved the target and the performance will motivate the team as we go into future competitions,” he said.

To reach the final, Pipeline defeated Nairobi Water 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-17) in one of the two semi-final matches that lasted 1:21minutes.

On their part, KCB achieved 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-20) victory against Kenya Defence Forces in other semi-final encounters.

Nyeri County Executive member for Sports and Education Elijah Nguyio presided over the closing ceremony on behalf of Governor Nderitu Gachagua.

Kenya Volleyball Federation’s first vice chairman Martin Makokha thanked all the participants for making the tournament a success.

Even bigger

Gachagua said his government will make the tournament even bigger next season.

The governor promised to introduce prize money for successful teams to motivate players and attract more participants.

“We are grateful to host this tournament and would like to appreciate the Kenya Volleyball Federation for honouring us to host the competition,” said Nguyio.

“The county government would wish to donate more besides the trophies and play field we provided towards the hosting of this tournament but we promise to do that next year,” he said.

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