Kenya Prisons disarm GSU to retain men's volleyball title

It was the second successive time the Wardens were crowned champions after dethroning GSU in 2023.

Prisons had thrown the gauntlet in the first leg of the playoffs final on Friday by disarming the paramilitary side in straight sets.

Their opponents were however out to spoil the party in the second leg of the final as they went on to clinch the first set in 25-19.

The set saw Prisons serve off on a wrong footing, with GSU's powerful attacks proving to be too strong to contain which forced head coach Dennis Mokua to call for a time-out when the scoreline was 10-3.

Wafalme Stars regular Elphas Makuto, who won the best outside hitter award, continued to put in his impressive shift in attack, leading Prisons' demolition and prompting Mokua to call for a second time-out after falling behind 21-16.

It was already too late for the champions as GSU marched on to reign supreme 25-19.

Kenya Prisons reclaimed their mojo in the second set, with the best middle blocker of the play-offs Emmanuel Kimtai and his counterpart Emmanuel Kosgey putting in an impressive shift to stop GSU's attacks, propelling the Wardens to a 25-19 victory.

Prisons’ charge continued as they went on to win the two sets in 25-21 and 25-19 to complete the Kenya Volleyball Federation National Men’s League two-peat.

Fast-rising right attacker Dennis Eskon who was crowned the most valuable player in the play-offs was instrumental in leading Prisons to their second successive title.

Eskon was over the moon after clinching the award, after a finger injury prevented him from starring in last year's play-offs, denying him the chance to bag the award despite having a stellar campaign.

"I'm happy to have helped my side defend the title and also winning the best overall player. It means a lot to me. I missed it last season by a whisker but I kept working hard."

"We forced GSU to play to our tempo after using their speed to outdo us in the first set. We fought hard and at the end of the day we won the game. I'm very proud of our team," noted an overjoyed Eskon.

Earlier on, KVF women's league defending champions Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) cruised against nemesis Kenya Prisons in straight sets to force a tie-breaker on Sunday.

The tightly contested match saw the reigning champions win in sets of 28-26, 26-24 and 25-19, a result head coach Japheth Munala hailed.

"We came today, determined to win and I'm happy my girls showed the fighting spirit in them and won the match. We worked on a few weaknesses we had yesterday and I'm happy it paid off. We have a crucial test tomorrow and I'm optimistic that we will carry the day."

Munala also lauded Juliana Namutira who was far from her best yesterday for her impressive shift.

The Malkia Strikers outside hitter combined well with Esther Mutinda, scoring powerful shots to help the bankers put their title hopes alive.

"Juliana Namutira and Esther Mutinda pulled forces that saw the team cruise and force the tiebreaker. They outdid their performance and that was a plus for us. We hope tomorrow they will also turn up," noted Munala.

Meanwhile, outside hitter Sharon Chepchumba was forced to cheer her teammates from the bench after limping out in the first leg yesterday where they lost in straight sets.

At the same venue, Kenya Pipeline and Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) saw off DCI and KDF 3-0 and 3-2 respectively to take home the women and men's league bronze medalists.