By sportsnewsarena correspondent
Oct 10, 2017
Malkia Stars, the Kenya women's volleyball team edged closer to a place at the Japan 2018 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship after reaching the semifinals of the 2017 Women's African Nations Championship.
Kenya qualified for the semifinals with a game in hand after beating the Democratic Republic of Congo in straight sets at Palais des Sports Hall in Yaoundé, Cameroon on Monday.
They won 3-0 (25-17, 25-15, 25-12) on the third day of the event.
Middle blocker Edith Wisa led the way for Kenya with 13 points while Trizah Atuka added 12 points. Margot Mutshima contributed eight points as the best scorer from DR Congo.
The first set was an easy win for Kenya, with skipper Mercy Moim and Wisa getting gaps in the opponent’s court early on to give Kenya a 8-3 and 16-11 at the two TTOs.
Evelyne Makuto got her name on the score sheet four times in the third phase of the set to steer Kenya to a 25-17 win.
The second set was much more difficult for the Central African nation as they trailed for the better part of the set as Kenya scooped points freely.
Kenya led 16-8 at the second TTO before taking a 25-15 win after some good show from Atuka and Makuto.
The third set was another easy one for Kenya. Wisa and Atuka had back to back kills later on as Kenya grabbed a 8-1 lead.
They never looked back-capitalizing on some errors and a number of serve nets to win the set 25-12.
Coach Japhet Munala was a happy man after the third consecutive win adding that the team is gelling well with each match.
“Even though we have tried to get new players with every tournament, we have had a really good roll with the team and you can see the improvement through the tournament on our third match,” Munala said.
