Malkia Strikers coach happy with his charges despite losing in last pre-World Championships friendly
Reading Time: 2min | Thu. 22.09.22. | 11:02
Kenya is in Pool ‘A’ alongside the hosts, European and VNL champions Italy, Belgium, Puerto Rico and Cameroon
Malkia Strikers' Coach Luizomar de Moura was delighted with his team's performance on Wednesday despite losing to Canada in straight sets (25-23, 25-16, 25-15) in their last pre-World Championships friendly match at Omnisport Stadium at Apeldoorn in the Netherlands.
For his starting line-up in their last build-up match, Luizomar went for Mercy Moim, Noel Murambi, Edith Wisa, Lorine Chebet, Sharon Chepchumba, Emmaculate Nekesa, and Aggripina Kundu as the libero.
The Brazilian opines that playing against a team that finished 12th in this year’s Volleyball Nations League was a perfect test as it should show them areas that they need to rectify before they take on their first match.
“I am really happy with the team performance today against a Canadian team that a month ago was playing in the VNL. They are a better team and were playing at a higher level while we were just training and playing friendly matches. It was a good test for us since it showed us some mistakes we need to work on before our first match. For example in the first set, it was very tight at the end but we made mistakes in service and reception which handed them the win. We are going to review the video with the players and work on this in training.
Both of them are from the same confederation so it’s almost a similar school of volleyball. It really gives us insights on what to expect against Puerto Rico and also Cameroon. It’s important that the players understand how to transfer the responsibility of making errors to the opponents especially in high pressure games,” he as quoted as saying by Nation Sports.
Canada coach Shannon Winzer tipped Malkia to be among the top four teams that will qualify for the second round from Pool A, lauding the team for their strong hitters as well as the athleticism on show.
“The Kenyan team has very strong hitters and showed great athleticism. They were able to pull off some big plays and are an exciting team to watch. We didn’t have good form in the preparation phase but today we showed how good we can be especially when we engage our opposite when playing in system as well as in transition,” Winzer said.
