NAIROBI, Kenya, October 2 – Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) women’s volleyball coach Japheth Munala wants his team to pull up their socks ahead of their next match against Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in the ongoing Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) playoffs.
The bankers ground out a 3-2 win over former defending champions Kenya Prisons in their first playoff tie at the Kasarani Indoor Arena on Monday but Munala believes there is room for improvement.
“We will be going back to the drawing board to look at the way we have played today and prepare well for Tuesday. Although we played well and won today, I think we still need to work on our blocks and service going into the next match,” Munala said.
KCB were intent on punishing the wardresses, taking the first set 25-18 before coach Josp Baraza’s charges recovered to win 22-15 in the subsequent set.
A topsy turvy game it was turning out to be as KCB walloped their opponents 25-10 in the third set before Prisons once again rose to win 26-24 in the penultimate one.
Nonetheless, the bankers had the last laugh as they triumphed 15-12 in the last set to get their title campaign off to a flier.
Munala acknowledged that the game was testament enough to the tough test that await the bankers as all the four teams in contention give their all.
“It was a very tight match…something that we knew considering that all the teams have been training and preparing well for the playoffs. I am happy for the girls because they put on a show despite the difficult circumstances,” he said.
In the other playoff match of the day, defending champions Kenya Pipeline beat DCI 3-1 at the same venue.
The Africa Club Championships finalists won 25-16 and 25-22 in the first and second sets before they were jolted by the sleuths who triumphed 27-25 in the third set.
The oil merchants, however, steadied the ship and won 25-17 in the ultimate set to extinguish any hopes of an upset by the opponents.
