Kenya falls to Algeria at women’s U-20 Africa volleyball event
Kenya lost to Algeria in a five set thriller in her opening match of the 2015 Women’s U20 Africa Nations Championship at the Eastern Company Hall in Cairo, Egypt on Saturday night.
The 3-2 (19-25, 25-15, 25-21, 17-25, 15-10) result severely dented Kenya’s hopes of earning a ticket to the FIVB Volleyball Women’s U20 World Championship in Limassol and Polemidia, Cyprus in July.
The Kenyan team, led by Anne Lowem, got off to an impressive start as they led in the first set to win 25-19.
Algeria however came back aggressively in the second and third sets with libero Safia Imadali marshaling the defence and Nawel Hammouche spearheading the attack for 25-15 and 25-21 set wins.
TIEBREAKER
Kenya tied the scores in the fourth set with a 25-17 win to force a tiebreaker. Kenya started the fifth set with a 5-0 lead before the Algerians dug deep to clinch the decisive set 15-10.
The victory improved the Algerian win-loss record to 1-1 with 2 points at the conclusion of their matches, while Kenya’s record now stands at 0-1 with 1 point.
Hosts Egypt boasts a 1-0 win record with 3 points following their win against Algeria on Friday, an outcome that has greatly boosted the team’s chances of reaching the World Championships.
On the other hand, for Kenya to qualify for the global event as one of the two African nations, they mus beat Egypt either with a 3-0, or 3-1 victory on Sunday evening.