Kenya falls to Cuba in FIVB World Cup opener
Kenya opened her campaign at the 2015 FIVB World Cup with a 3-1 (25-27, 23-25, 25-12 and 25-22) loss to Cuba in an entertaining contest played at the Yoyogi National Stadium gymnasium in Tokyo on Saturday morning.
Its a match Kenya could have won as they led in all the four sets only to giving away the advantage as a result of back court errors and sloppy services.
“We are not giving up. Losing one game doesn’t mean we have lost everything,” team captain Brackides Agala said during a post-match press conference.
SLOW START
Agala, Mercy Moim and Violet Makuto were the standout players for Kenya in the match that was watched by a capacity crowd of 10,000 fans.
Cuba started slowly, but the recovered midway through the opening with Gracia Gonzalez and the left-handed Alvarez Jennifer leading the onslaught.
“We deserve to win because we made the least mistakes. My girls are a determined group and we are looking to build on this result,” Cuba coach Roberto Gracia said.
Kenya will next play the Dominican Republic in her second match on Sunday.