Big names remain in contention as Eldoret tourney enters knockout stage
General Service Unit players Obadiah Kiptoo (second left) and Emmanuel Kogo block an attack during their match against DOD CAU at the second edition of Eldoret City Volleyball Tournament held at Eldoret Polytechnic grounds on December 2, 2023.
What you need to know:
- Pipeline later dispatched Kampala Amateur Volleyball Club (KAVC) of Uganda 3-0 (25-10,25-11,25-12) in the second match to book a slot in the semi-final
- At the same venue, KCB Women's Volleyball Team recorded two wins against KAVC 3-0 (25-9,25-11,25-6) and DCI 3-0 (25-23,25-17,25-21)
- DCI coach Daniel Bor said the competition was tough and thus their early exit from the event
Kenya Pipeline women's volleyball team were forced to dig deep to beat stubborn Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) 3-2 (22-25,15-25,25-23,25-15,15-12) as the second edition of Eldoret City Volleyball Tournament got underway at Eldoret Polytechnic grounds on Saturday.
Pipeline later dispatched Kampala Amateur Volleyball Club (KAVC) of Uganda 3-0 (25-10,25-11,25-12) in the second match to book a slot in the semi-final.
At the same venue, KCB Women's Volleyball Team recorded two wins against KAVC 3-0 (25-9,25-11,25-6) and DCI 3-0 (25-23,25-17,25-21).
KCB and Pipeline will square it out on Sunday morning to determine who tops Pool "A" with both teams having qualified for the semi-finals.
KCB captain Edith Wisa said, "So far so good. Our group was a tough but I'm glad we are on the right track. One match remaining against pipeline at the group stage and we hope to win and top the group."
DCI beat KAVC 3-0 to finish third in the group.
DCI coach Daniel Bor said the competition was tough and thus their early exit from the event.
"Our pool was tough. Three top teams in the local league were in same group and really we gave our all but our best was not good enough. We performed well against Pipeline but our finishing was poor and we were punished. We also gave a good account of ourselves against KCB. We hope to rectify our finishing in the league," said Bor.
In Pool "B", Kenya Prisons overcame Nairobi Prisons 3-0( 25-18,25-20,25-7) before they saw off Post Bank 3-0 (25-11,26-24,25-19) to top the pool.
Nairobi Prisons finished last in the group winless after losing 3-1 to Post Bank 3-1(25-18,18-25,25-21,25-18) and 3-0 (25-13,25-12,25-16) to Nemostars of Uganda.
In the men's category, Kenya Ports Authority bagged wins against Kenya Defence Forces 3-1( 25-20,20-25,25-21,25-22) and 3-0 (25-12,25-21,25-15) against KAPU in Pool "D" while General Service Unit led Pool "A" having won all their matches against Nemo Stars 3-0 (25-20,25-13,25-20) and Nairobi Prisons (25-16,25-29,25-21).
Nemo Stars held their nerve to beat Nairobi Prisons 3-2 (22-25,26-28,25-23,25-23, 18-16).
Western Prisons lost their Pool "D" matches as they fell to Administration Police of Kenya (APK) 1-3 (21-25,20-25,25-22,25-18) and 1-3 (23-25,25-22,19-25,25-20) to Rift valley Prisons.
DOD beat Mt Kenya Base Yetu 3-0 (28-26,25-18,25-17) in Pool "D", as Equity Bank defeated APK 3-1 (25-20,22-25,25-22,25-22).
The top two teams in the four pool will play in the last eight.
