There was no gold for Kenya as curtains came down on the CAVB Zone V Beach Volleyball qualifiers at Pride Inn Paradise hotel in Mombasa on Saturday, where the home teams did just enough to qualify for the next qualification round.
Both Kenya men's and women's teams will have a chance to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games when they play at the CAVB Continental Cup next year.
While Kenya’s men’s team finished third to claim bronze in the Zone V qualifiers, the women’s side overcame a stubborn Rwanda in the golden set to settle for silver.
Egypt bagged gold in both categories as Rwanda men got silver after losing to the Pharaohs on Saturday.
The top three countries will now represent Zone V at next year’s CAVB Continental Cup and African Games.
The men’s team went into the last day of action badly in need of a win against Burundi and Kenya B’s Brian Melly and Edward Kibet threw down the gauntlet after coming from a set down to beat Burundi A’s Jean Iteretika Christ Mukunzi 2-1 (19-21, 21-16,15-13) in the opening match of the day.
Kenya A’s Jairus Bett and Elphas Makuto dominated Burundi B, comprised of Fiston Niyongabo and Dan Ishimwe, dismissing them in straight sets (21-13, 21-13) to complete the job and secure a ticket to the Continental Cup and the delayed 2023 African Games scheduled for March next year.
Men’s head coach Patrick Owino was a relieved man post-match, but urged Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) to accord the team better preparations for the upcoming assignments given the quality of opposition.
“It would have been bad if we were eliminated at the first hurdle because this has never happened before. I knew I had newbies in my team, so it was definitely not going to be easy, but the boys did a good job against Burundi.
“We had planned for the first match because we knew if we won it, then the second one was going to be easy. Now that we have qualified, I want to urge the federation to give us early preparations for the African Games and Continental Cup.
“Many African countries are now taking beach volleyball seriously, even going to European Tours to prepare so we have to step up in order to compete against them. We have a good team that can do wonders if given more time to prepare and acclimatize to beach volleyball conditions,” said Owino, who hinted at scouting for taller players in the local league to beef up his team.
The women’s contest between Rwanda and Kenya lived up to the billing, with both A teams beating the B teams in straight sets to force the tie-breaker. It was Kenya A’s Gaudencia Makokha and Yvonne Wavinya who overcame Rwanda A’s Valentine Munezero and Benitha Mukandayisenga 15-9 in the golden set to secure the silver medal for the hosts.
“I am proud of what the girls have achieved in this tournament, especially that we had new partnerships in both teams. Rwanda was a tricky opponent, but we were more composed in the golden set, which helped us win. Our services, attack and back court defence were so good.
“Our focus now shifts to the Continental Cup and African Games. We plan to add more players to the team but we have to discuss that as the technical bench,” said Kenya women’s coach Salome Wanjala.
Egypt, who were not in action yesterday, were crowned women champions after winning all their matches against Rwanda, Kenya (golden set) and Burundi.
The North Africans also won gold in the men’s category after their A team of Ahmed Azab and Adel Nassef beat Rwanda A’s Oliver Ntagengwa and Venuste Gatsinzi 15-12 in the golden set on Saturday.
