Mixed fortunes

By Oscar Pilipili

Kenyan national teams and clubs continued to rule the roost in African volleyball but victories proved elusive in Federation of International Volleyball (FIVB) organised events.

The busy international calendar started on positive note after Prisons led a 1-2 Kenya finish in the CAVB African Clubs Championships at Nazarene University last April.

Prisons defeated local rivals Kenya Pipeline 3-0 sets in the final to clinch the continental title and earn a ticket to represent Africa in FIVB World Clubs Championships.

The national women’s team took off strongly after they won All African Games Zone (AAG) Five Qualifiers in Addis Ababa Ethiopia to gain entry to the quadrennial continental showpiece that was held in Mozambique last September.

The men were not lucky in the AAG Qualifiers as they were beaten to the ticket by emerging forces in Rwanda.

The proverbial lady luck, however, smiled on the men’s team as they were belatedly admitted to the AAG, thanks to withdrawal of Egyptian team who were by then experiencing political turmoil in their country.

The men’s team showed why they should be ranked among top performers in the continent by finishing in bronze position in Mozambique.

Their women’s counterparts performed below expectations as they unbelievably managed a bronze behind winners Algeria and runners-up Cameroon.

The heart-breaking performance came less than two months after the very team had overcame strong opposition to claim Africa Nations Cup title in Nairobi.

Busy year

It was indeed a very busy year for Kenyan teams as they were engaged in major international competitions throughout the period.

From AAG, Prisons team headed to Doha in Qatar that was venue for World Clubs Championships in October.

Although qualifying for the Championships was in itself a big achievement for Prisons, there was nothing to celebrate about as they Kenyans failed to win a match in the lucrative tournament where they finished fifth out of six teams.

After the World Clubs Championships, the indefatigable Kenyan women had another high profile event- FIVB World Cup ahead of them.

The tournament that was held at various Japanese cities in last month was yet another tall order to Kenyan girls as they lost all their 11 matches.

But the event offered the players great opportunity to market their talent with three of them– Mercy Moim, Evelyn Makuto and Lydia Maiyo attracting European teams.

Makuto who was making World Cup was the outstanding player in the Kenyan team and it came as no surprise when she was declared Most Improved Player in two matches during the event.

The year also witnessed change of guard in local national league in both men and women category where new winners were crowned.

General Service Unit men regained the trophy after two years of unsuccessful attempt beating the 2009-11 winners Prisons 3-1 in final.

It was a sad year for Prisons as their women also lost the title to rivals Kenya Pipeline. The election of Waithaka Kioni as Vice President of Confederation of Africa Volleyball three weeks ago wrapped up the year of mixed results.