Superlative Wisa, Moim bag individual awards at African championships
What you need to know:
- Edith Wisa and Mercy Moim bagged individual awards on Saturday evening as the curtains came down on the women’s Volleyball Africa Nations championship in Yaounde, Cameroon.
- Wisa won the Best Blocker award while Moim was named Best Attacker.
- Kenya failed to bring the trophy home after losing 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 29-27) to Cameroon in the final match played at the Palais des Sports Indoor Arena.
Edith Wisa and Mercy Moim bagged individual awards on Saturday evening as the curtains came down on the women’s Volleyball Africa Nations championship in Yaounde, Cameroon.
Wisa won the Best Blocker award while Moim was named Best Attacker.
Kenya failed to bring the trophy home after losing 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 29-27) to Cameroon in the final match played at the Palais des Sports Indoor Arena.
Moim said that she and her team mates had worked very hard during the competition, and that it was sad to have lost the final match to the hosts.
She, however, thanked God for having enabled them qualify for the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship that will be held in Japan in September next year.
“It was quite disappointing to lose on Saturday, because we were almost sure we would beat them and we really wanted to come back with the trophy. Many things worked against us, especially the huge, partisan crowd that turned up during the final which made it very difficult to concentrate.
“I am however comforted by the fact that we will be at the world championship next year. That is a new hurdle for us so we shall start preparing and strategising early so that we can also record a good performance there,” she said.
The Kenyan ladies secured a ticket to the world championship on Friday evening after beating rivals Egypt 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-19) in the semi-finals of the continental competition.
Making the final guaranteed qualification with two tickets reserved for African teams.
Hosts Cameroon booked the other ticket after beating Senegal (25-19, 25-20, 27-25) in the second semi-final before they went on to win the African crown for the first time in the history of the competition.
In their five appearances at the world championship, Kenya’s most impressive showing was during their debut in 1994 in Brazil where they finished 13th among 24 teams, but coach Japheth Munala believes that they can do even better.
Kenya has dominated the African scene over the past two decades, winning the Women’s African Volleyball Championship a record nine times.
They also famously won the 2015 FIVB World Grand Prix Group 3 title after beating Peru in the final.
Kenya missed out on this year’s event due to lack of funds.
Malkia Strikers are expected back home on Tuesday morning.
