Year-In-Review: Malkia reclaimed African glory, Bitok rose to KVF administration

Malkia Strikers thrashed Egypt 3-0 in a scintillating final showdown staged in Yaoundé, Cameroon, a day after putting to sword hosts Cameroon 3-1 in the semi-final.

It was a historic win for the 10-time African Champions, bagging the title after eight years' wait with Cameroon standing in between them and the glory on three occasions prior to their triumph.

The African giants came to Cameroon following a poor spell in the Challenger Cup in Laval, France where they failed to earn a single point and the AFCON triumph would be their only route to the Olympic Games.

The Kenyan lasses also dominated the African awards with the country’s golden girl and opposite attacker Sharon Chepchumba bagging the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, seasoned receiver and Kenya’s captain Mercy Moim taking the best receiver award as new Kenya Pipeline’s setter Emmaculate Nekesa walked away with the Best setter’s award.

Their counterparts Wafalme Stars under the tutelage of Gideon Tarrus flattered to deceive at the African stage as they finished ninth, a replica of their previous year outing after seeing off Ghana

After a resounding 2023, Malkia Strikers will have another bite at the cherry in July during the Olympic Games where they will tussle out for world glory against world volleyball giants.

Kenyan clubs fall at African Stage

Kenyan teams failed to match the might of their North African counterparts as the four teams which represented Kenya; KCB, Kenya Pipeline (women), GSU and KPA (men) failed to bag a medal in the African Volleyball Clubs Championships held in March - in Tunisia.

Kenya Pipeline's hopes of reclaiming the African Women's Volleyball Clubs Championship title they last won in 2005 failed as they fell to Zamalek Sporting Club of Egypt 3-1 (25 -22, 18-25, 25-15, 25-17) in the final.

However, the Silver medallists would later reign supreme in the Confederation African Volleyball Zone V Championships as they thumped Rwanda Revenue Authority 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-19) to bag their maiden title in the competitions held in November at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.

The 2022 African champions KCB managed a fifth place at the African stage after falling to Moulodia Club D'alger of Algeria 3-2 (22-25, 27-25, 25-20, 16-25, 13-15).

In the men’s contest, Kenya’ s hunt for the CAVB club championship title continued after KPA crashed out in the quarterfinal while Equity bank finished tenth in their debut season.

KPA managed a fifth place, an improvement of two places in their previous debut year, after thumping Tunisia’s Kelibia 3-2 in a thrilling fifth place play-offs.

New Local Champions

The 2023 season saw new champions in the local volleyball scene as KCB and Kenya Prisons ended KPC and GSU’s supremacy in the women’s and men’s league respectively, which ended with round-robin climactic finals held in October at the Kasarani Indoor Arena.

KCB staged an impressive comeback to whitewash KPC 3-1 (25-18, 25-19, 25-21, 25-21) in a thrilling climactic finale, ending their 15-year title drought.

They topped the three-day KVF women’s league's climax on seven points, one ahead of KPC, hoisting their first volleyball title since 2008.

Their triumph was marshalled by Malyne Terry, a 16- year-old Form Three student at Kwanthanze High School who put on a standout performance to rally the Bankers to win the title in her play-off debut. Kenya Prisons settled for third place as DCI finished fourth.

In the men’s league, former champions Prisons Kenya reclaimed their title after thumping GSU 3-2 (25-20, 25-21, 22-25, 28-30, 15-10) in an epic five-set thriller on the final day of the three-day league’s climax.

Prisons Kenya won their first league title since 2016 after ending the Paramilitary’s six year dominance to top the round-robin playoffs on eight points.

Determined KPA finished runners-up for the second time in a row on six points as their dreams for the first league title went up in smoke after GSU failed to beat Kenya Prisons for them to have a chance.

GSU, 15-time league champions, settled for a third spot on three points as KDF managed only a point in the four-team competition.

Already KCB have shown glimpse of retaining their title after thrashing KPC 3-1 (25-17, 22-25, 25-23, 26-24) in the Eldoret City Volleyball Tournament held in early December as GSU thumped Prisons Kenya 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-20) in the men’s category.

Munala returns to Malkia Strikers fold

KCB’s head coach Japheth Munala returned to the Malkia Strikers fold after being appointed by the Kenya Volleyball Federation to replace Paul Bitok who was elected to serve as the Kenya Volleyball Federation deputy chairman last August.

Munala had been serving as Bitok’s deputy and his last assignment as the lead coach was in 2018 during the World Championship held in Japan.

Former Malkia Strikers setter Janet Wanja was also incorporated in the Malkia Strikers’ technical bench replacing Kenya Pipeline’s Paul Gitau, who opted out of the squad after he was fired by Kenya Pipeline in November for alleged misconduct.

As 2024 unfolds, the volleyball scene will be highlighted by Malkia Strikers show at the Olympic Games, with newly appointed coach Munala looking to leave an indelible mark.