Malkia Strikers make light work of Lesotho as quarters beckon

In Yaounde

It took Malkia Strikers less than an hour to see off Lesotho 3-0 (25-05,25-08,25-13) in their last group stage match of the ongoing Africa Nations Championship here at Palais polyvalent des sports (Paposy) Arena in Yaounde on Sunday. 

The win meant Kenya finished top of Pool ‘B’ unbeaten with 15 points from five matches and will now face Nigeria in the quarter-finals on Tuesday. Nigeria lost 2-3 to Algeria to settle fourth in a Pool ‘A’.

"We wanted to finish top of our group and we are happy we have done it without dropping a point. We are now heading to the knockout stage and our performance in the first round to send a message to our opponents that we mean business," said libero Leonida Kasaya post-match. 

"Our target remains to win this championship and it's good that every player has gotten a chance to play in the first round. It will take a collective effort from everyone in the team to deliver this trophy," she added.

Belinda Barasa led Kenya with a game-high 13 points (8 kills, 2 aces, 3 blocks) while Jemimah Siang’u and Sharon Chepchumba added nine points each.

As expected, Kenya coach Luizomar de Moura rested some of his first team players starting with Emmaculate Nekesa, Sharon Chepchumba, Jemimah Siang’u, Veronica Adhiambo, Belinda Barasa and Lorine Chebet.

From the onset, the winless Lesotho were quickly enrolled into the volleyball class as Kenya raced to a 7-1 lead. After 10 minutes, the scoreline read 18-5 with Barasa ruthless in her spikes through the middle. A seven-point rally saw Kenya clinch the set at 25-5 as the fixture took shape of a training match.

Luizomar made his first change of the second set when Kenya opened a 14-3 lead, introducing Loise Simiyu and Juliana Namutira for Chepchumba and Adhiambo. Despite Lesotho coach Thabiso Maboee changing his entire first team, there was no reprieve for his team as they lost 25-8.

Rose Magoi got a taste of the action at the start of the third set as Chepchumba returned on court to continue her recovery from an ankle injury that ruled her out of the first two matches of this group.

She was soon replaced by Simiyu as Kenya hurried to a 7-3 lead that grew to 15-8. Lesotho planted some respect on the scoreline in the third set as they reached double digits but that was the only positive for Coach Maboee as Kenya completed the job at 25-13.

Quarter-finals pairing

Kenya v Nigeria

Egypt v Uganda 

Rwanda v Algeria 

Cameroon v Morocco