L. MathekaKDF shock Prisons Kenya in five-set thriller
Reading Time: 3min | Sun. 17.04.22. | 19:27
GSU's clash against KFS was rained off.
Former Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) champions Prisons Kenya were subjected to their first loss of the season as they went down 3-2 to a resilient Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) side in an edge-of-the seat encounter at the Nyayo Indoor Arena.
Under the tutelage of Kenyan International Elisha Aliwa, the military side began the match on a high, sending warning signs with a win 25-23 victory in the first set.
The soldiers looked a pale shadow of themselves as they blunder after another gifted Prisons the comeback they were so frantically searching for as they won 15-25 and 17-25 to head to the fourth set on the advantage.
KDF beats Prisons Kenya 3:2 in a heated match to earn a much needed win in the national volleyball league.
— Yegon Emmanuel (@yegonemmanuel_) April 17, 2022
Watch final set here: https://t.co/JH75moKmMp@KenyaVolleyball @kenyavolleybal @TrailblazersVo2 @kdfinfo @CarolRadull
After a see-saw in the initial stages of the set, Aliwa's men finally took charge at the second technical time, with the score reading 16-15.
The two sides were tied at 16 and 17 but the military side, eager to clinch their first even win against the former champions kept their head above water for 25-21 victory to set up a decider clash.
In the decider set, Prisons scored the first point but that was the only time they led. KDF capitalised on two errors and made two impressive blocks to lead 4-1 and were again up at 6-2 as they headed to the change of sides leading 8-4.
With the match almost in the bag, Aliwa's men put up a shoe to the full-packed Indoor Arena to win the set 15-9 and a crucial two points in the race for playoff slots.
KDF were coming off another tightly contested five-set thriller against Equity Bank which the latter won on Saturday.
"Against Equity we made errors at crucial moments and while they are a good side, I can say we lost that match because of our own mistakes.
Every win, regardless a good or bad one, gives you more confidence.
— Trailblazers Volleyball Club (@TrailblazersVo2) April 17, 2022
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Kidum Kibido @ferdiomanyala @absabank#blazers #believe #triumph #volleyball#volley#volleyballislife#volleyballplayer#somosvoleibol pic.twitter.com/YRNHzN7p4u
Coming into the Prisons match, we knew up against a team as experienced as they are we could not afford to make such errors. We corrected on those, perfected our blocks and made a few changes in our positioning and that worked in our favour," said Aliwa.
The tactician could not help but heap praises on youngster Martin Kibet who made his debut in the league and played a crucial role in the Opposite hitter position, stopping Prisons on their tracks.
"This is our first win against Prisons in the league in over five years. The last time KDF picked a win against the warders u and my assistant coach Sila Makiso were actively playing so this is a good morale booster for the team.
Standoff at Nyayo Stadium. Final set of volleyball match btwn GSU & Kenya Forest has been moved from the outdoor court because of rain. Match now cannot be played because of poor lighting indoors. @moscakenya @AMB_A_Mohammed can't this be fixed?@CarolRadull @MikeOkinyi pic.twitter.com/xd6JX15h3F
— Yegon Emmanuel (@yegonemmanuel_) April 17, 2022
The league, this season, is very competitive and while we have picked these two points, it is just one of many matches that we need to win to be in the playoffs," added Aliwa.
Meawhile, another match pitting holders General Service Unit (GSU) against Kenya Forest Service (KFS) was rained off in the final set and was abandoned. The sides were tied on two sets.
