Prisons fall to Algerian club at Volleyball Club Championships
Kenyan teams continued to register mixed results in the men’s African Club Volleyball Championships which entered the second day on Monday in Sousse, Tunisia.
Local champions Kenya Prisons suffered their first defeat against Algeria’s Setif at the Olympic Hall, while their compatriots General Service Unit recovered from Saturday’s loss to record their first win over APR of Rwanda.
Prisons’ Group D battle against the Algerian opponents was a nervy two-hour contest which eventually required an additional tie breaking set, before the Kenyan side went down 3-2.
Prisons had struggled against Setif from the onset losing the first two sets 25-12 and 25-15 before they showed more aggression in the next two sets which they won 25-23 and 25-21 with attacker Ibrahim Odindo accounting for 23 points.
The Algerians however left nothing to chance in the thrilling tie breaker where they allowed Prisons only four points on their way to a 15-4 win.
RECEPTION MISTAKES
“There is still a lot to play for because we have other opponents to face who are not as strong as the Algerians. We are focused on the next match which we hope to win so that we can finish in a good position,” said Prisons Coach Gideon Chenje.
In Pool C, GSU bounced back from a 3-0 loss against Egypt’s Al Ahly in their opening match to beat Rwanda’s APR 3-1(25-18, 25-13, 21-25 and 25-22).
The military team looked sure of a straight set victory but a series of reception mistakes saw them give away the third set, although they returned stronger in the fourth set.
The result means that both Prisons and GSU have a 1-1 cumulative score having won one match and lost the other in the competition which will come to a close at the end of the week.
The Gideon Tarus coached GSU will next face Bourj Bouarirj of Algeria in their next match.