Volleyball: Bigwigs throw down gauntlet as KVF playoffs serve off

The two sides blew away their opponents in straight sets to pick the quarter finals first leg wins of the volleyball league climax that will see top eight teams clash in both categories to crown new champions, following the conclusion of the regular season last weekend.

Men’s champions Kenya Prisons disarmed Administration Police Kenya (APK) 3-0 sets at Kasarani to leave the wardens with one foot in the semi-final.

Relentless Prisons, who ended GSU’s seven-year dominance in 2023, were out of the blocks in the first set with a 25-21 win and went on to seal the victory (25-23,25-22) in the second and third sets respectively.

They will seal the last-four slot on Saturday if they win against the same opponent in the return fixture, a feat head coach Dennis Mokua is confident they will attain.

"I'm elated we won the game.  We've had few mistakes in our services, blocks and back of defence but we are going to work on them to book an early semi-final ticket."

At the same venue, Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) had to dig deep to see off stubborn Kenya Forest Service (KFS) 3-2 sets in a scintillating clash.

The soldiers drew first blood in the first two sets winning 25-18 and 25-20 respectively.

And only needing to win the third set to put the game to bed, KFS threw a spanner in the works by winning the subsequent two sets (20-21, 25-19) to send the match to the decider set.

The Elisha Aliwa led soldiers then regrouped to win 17-15 in the nervy tie breaker, as the forest officers once again showed their grit just few days after ending GSU’s unbeaten run at the final leg of the regular season.

KDF head coach Elisha Aliwa demanded his side to give their all in Saturday’s return leg.

"Today's match has been tough as it was expected but I'm glad we won. We started off well but the boys lost concentration which almost cost us the game."

"We are going to work on our back court attack going into tomorrow's match with the aim of clinching the semi-final ticket," said Aliwa.

In another quarter final clash, record holders General Service Unit(GSU) made light work of Equity winning 3-1 sets.

The other men’s quarter final clash pitting Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) against Trail Blazers was rescheduled to Saturday after a leaking roof at Kasarani. KPA were leading 19-12 in the first set.

In the women’s contest, defending champions KCB wiped the floor with Kenya Army following a 3-0 sets win while former champions Kenya Pipeline swept aside Post bank with the same score line at Nyayo Gymnasium.

Speaking after the team’s triumph, KCB’s stand-in coach David Kinga said: “I am proud of the team for putting up a good fight against a solid opponent. We know that the job is not done yet but, hopefully, we will win over them tomorrow to sail through to the semis. We must work on our blocks and services going into the second leg.”

Youngster Deborah Jesang, who made it to the dream team at the 2024 African Club Championship, once again proved her quality with her attacking prowess in the three sets.

Kinga was not shy to start her alongside opposite attacker Juliana Namutira who wreaked havoc on their opponents.

Belinda Barasa, Mariana Musa, captain Edith Wisa, Esther Mutinda, and Magdalene Mwende are the other players who featured for the Munala’s charges.

Sharon Jepchumba who rejoined KCB recently from Greek giants  PAOK Thessaloniki sat on the bench alongside Malkia Striker’s captain Mercy Moim.

“We have an assignment, our objective is to go all the way to the final. I am urging the girls not to rest on their laurels because we know the competition gets tougher as we progress,” noted captain Edith Wisa.

Kenya Prisons and DCI also inched closer to the semi-finals after defeating KDF and Nairobi Prisons 3-0 and 3-1 sets respectively.

The return fixtures of the quarter finals clashes will be staged on Saturday at Kasarani and Nyayo Indoor Arenas.