Resilient Malkia Strikers thrash hapless DR Congo in Africa Nations Championship

Malkia Strikers have redeemed themselves from a 3-0 loss suffered in the hands of defending champions Cameroon in their opening pool B of the ongoing CAVB Women’s Africa Nations Cup by thrashing the Democratic Republic of Congo 3-0 at the Kigali Arena.

The Kenyan girls had lost to Cameroon in sets of 25-20, 25-21 and 25-19 to start their bid to reclaim the continental crown but bounced back, thrashing DRC in convincing sets of 25-11, 25-12 and 25-19. Kenya will play Burundi and Tunisia in her final group stage matches.

Prior to the match, coach Paul Bitok who conceded that the team skipper Mercy Moim and Sharon Chepchumba had slight injuries disclosed that they approached the Cameroon encounter precautious as he sought to preserve energy for the subsequent matches.

The tactician also conceded that the team missed the experience of Jane Wacu who did not make to the team leaving him to turn to the services of Kenya Pipeline setter Esther Mutinda.

“We had challenges in setting the ball considering that we had over-relied on Wacu. I had to throw Mutinda in the mix and despite her inexperience, at this stage, she did well. I couldn’t risk displaying my A game against Cameroon as we have a couple of matches ahead of us. Kenya has a history of starting championships poorly due to lack of friendly matches but I am optimistic that we will perform better in our next matches,” he said.

In another pool B match, Cameroon recorded their second win after beating Tunisia 3-0 (25-15,25-18 and 25-17) to inch closer to the knockout stage.