In Paris

You could be forgiven for thinking Kenya’s opening Pool ‘B’ match of the Paris Olympic Games women’s volleyball tournament on Monday was being played in Fortaleza, Manaus or somewhere in Rio de Janeiro.

Because the partisan yellow-and-green crowd support and overwhelming straight-sets victory Brazil handed Kenya’s “Malkia Strikers” was as though it was a routine home fixture for the “Canarinhas”.

The Brazilians needed six minutes short of an hour to dispatch Kenya 25-14, 25-13, 25-12 at the South Paris Arena with 35-year-old setter Macris Fernanda Silva Carneiro, who started playing volleyball at the age of eight, saying it was a fitting reward for the hard work that they put in during their training camp on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, having to stay away from family for long spells in training.

Favourites Poland had defeated Japan 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 25-23, 28-26) in an evenly-matched opening group game on Sunday.

“The Olympic Games is a tournament different from other championships, it’s a different environment… here, there is different energy,” the Brazilian setter who turns out for Praia Clube in the Brazilian National Volleyball League, said, noting that they had studied Kenya’s game closely to effectively deal with the African champions.

“I think they played so good. We were studying their videos and we saw a lot of things that made us completely ready for this game because we knew they were so powerful and also organized in defence.

“We were paying attention to this game because we know every game is important. We were consistent and stayed focus, knowing that every point is important and all the teams have good energy.”

The Brazilians camped in Saquarema, a surfing paradise some 73 kilometres east of Rio de Janeiro known for its pristine beaches and tranquil surroundings.

“The training camp was good with the beach close and we felt relaxed and could concentrate on the training,” Carneiro noted, highlighting the importance of the support from fans, friends and family.

“We started training in May and usually we would stay in camp from Monday to Friday and then over the weekend we go to our homes and return on Sunday to resume practice. We have one-and-a-half days at home but even then, we need to maintain our fitness.

“We have the opportunity to concentrate on training, and then during the weekends we go home to get good energy from our family and fans.

“My first Olympics was in Tokyo and it was completely different (without fans due to Covid-19), here there are fans and its amazing… it’s a completely different feeling and I’m so happy.

“The fans will always push us to win but we are happy with the support from the fans, family and the people of Brazil.”

Monday's result could appear to be some sort of karma as, ironically, “Malkia Strikers” previously enjoyed the services of a six-man Brazilian technical bench, headed by coach Luizomar de Moura, but the Kenya Volleyball Federation sensationally terminated the contract which was part of a support programme from the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB).

This even after the Brazilians organised a training camp for the “Malkia Strikers” at some point in Brazil and injected some advanced training methods.

The Brazilian girls were perfect in all departments with great reception, towering blocks and ferocious attacks in the game watched by Kenya’s delegation that included Sports Principal Secretary Peter Tum, Kenya’s Ambassador to France Betty Cherwon, Webuye West Member of Parliament Dan Wanyama - himself a former Kenya volleyball captain - alongside National Olympic Committee of Kenya officials led by President Paul Tergat, Secretary General Francis Mutuku and Team Kenya’s delegation head Anthony Kariuki.

With Brazil’s Turkey-based, 20-year-old outside hitter Ana Cristina – whose mother Cecilia Menezes also played for Brazil for seven years - standing at six-foot-four, “Malkia Strikers” stood little chance, but drew a lot of positives from the match ahead of their second fixture against the world’s top-ranked nation, Poland, Wednesday

“We have improved in the reception. This has been Kenya’s weakness but today we received many balls,” Kenya’s head coach Japheth Munala reacted.

“The libero Agripina (Kundu) and our left players Veronica (Adhiambo) and Leonida Kasaya received a lot of balls and also Juliana (Namutira) when she came in… what let us down was finishing off and the net defence.

“We will now go back and study Poland on video and then head to training to counter their strengths.”
Kenya’s captain Triza Atuka was also gracious in defeat, picking up some key lessons.

“We had our good moments and happy that we have improved on our reception which is usually an issue whenever we come for these championships.

“Brazil were good in defence, especially blocking and back-court defence. We will work on our side-out during training and see how we can improve.

“Our next opponents Poland are a strong team and having played Brazil today is an eye-opener because most of the players realise that if we can try against Brazil, we can do better against Poland because the opening match is always difficult but now we know what to plan on to approach the next match.”