Kenya humiliate Burkina Faso in Africa Nations Championship

In Yaounde, Cameroon

Malkia Strikers Thursday barely broke a sweat as they swept aside Burkina Faso in straight sets (25-10, 25-09, 25-10) in their second Pool ‘B’ match here at Palais polyvalent des sports (Paposy) Arena in Yaounde, Cameroon.

Coach Luizomar fielded all his players with Juliana Namutira profiting to make her debut for Kenya. There was also a cameo for Sharon ‘Chumba’ Chepchumba albeit briefly which was a big psychological boost for Malkia Strikers after their star opposite limped out with an ankle injury during their friendly match against Rwanda on Tuesday.

“Going forward we are going to give a ‘Chumba’ a chance to see if she has healed but we will do it slowly. We will field her for a set or two against Morocco to observe her because we need her for the next round.  

“It was a shock for us going into the tournament without her but we are very happy to see her condition improve. It gives us confidence and you can see the players were very happy to see her back,” said Malkia Strikers assistant coach Paul Bitok post-match.

And what a fantastic debut it was for Namutira who scored a game-high 9 points (8 kills, 1 ace) operating at 73 percent efficiency in attack. Samira Tiendrebegogo replied for Burkina Faso with 8 points (5 kills, 3 blocks) who remain without a win in two matches.  

As expected, Kenya bolted off to a bright start as Luizomar kept faith in his preferred first six of outside hitters Veronica Adhiambo and Mercy Moim, setter Emmaculate Nekesa, middle blockers Edith Wisa, Trizah Atuka and youngster Loice Simiyu at opposite. Aggripina Kundu retained libero duties ahead of Leonida Kasaya.

After opening a 7-3 lead, Luizomar unleashed Chepchumba who came in to serve for Atuka. The lead grew to 12-4 and Burkina Faso coach Pierre Guiguemde called for a time-out.  

Yet the storm never abated as Kenya went further ahead 14-4 and Namutira stepped on court for her debut replacing skipper Moim. Atuka delivered the set point with a quick attack through the middle and an error for Burkina Faso settled the first set at 25-10.

Namutira stayed on court from the start of the second set and she was soon joined by Jemimah Siang’u who replaced Veronica Adhiambo. Luizomar rung more changes as Kenya’s lead grew to 13-5 with Belinda Barasa, Lorine Chebet and Rose Magoi all getting a taste of the action.

The second set ended just like it started with a powerful spike from Namutira completing the job at 25-09.

Kasaya took over the libero duties from Kundu in the third set with Luizomar fielding a completely new first six. And the pattern of the earlier sets continued; Kenya dominating to lead 7-3, 14-6 and finally clinch the set at 25-10.

“It was an important match to test the strength of our bench and see whether the substitutes are ready for the competition. This is a complex tournament where we will be playing five matches in a row so we have to rotate the team to ensure we don’t get fatigued before the knockout stages.

“We are happy with their performance. It is now upon us to field them because they have shown that they are ready. They are at a good level, just lacking experience. We have more matches coming up like the Lesotho game which is a good opportunity to field them,” noted Bitok.

Following the win, Malkia sit top of Pool ‘B’ with six points from two matches. They take on neighbours Uganda tomorrow at 3pm EAT.