Malkia Strikers end Olympics campaign with loss to Japan

The national women’s volleyball team, Malkia Strikers’ campaign at the Paris Olympic Games ended on Saturday with defeat to Japan and failure to win a set.

Malkia Strikers slumped to their third consecutive defeat, going down to Japan in 3-0 straight sets of 25-17, 25-22 and 25-12 in the Pool “B” outing.

Malkia Strikers had previously fallen in straight sets to Brazil (25–14, 25–13, 25–12) and Poland (25–14, 25–17, 25–15, a development that saw them finish bottom of the pool without a point.

Despite the victory, Japan also failed to advance to the quarter-finals after finishing third with three points courtesy of their victory against Kenya.  They had lost to Brazil (3-0; 25–20, 25–17, 25–18) and Poland (3-1; 20–25, 25–22, 25–23, 28–26).

Brazil and Poland, who have already qualified for the quarter-finals, will battle on Sunday to decide the pool winner. 

The Japanese went ahead 13-5, cashing in on the enormous errors from the Kenyans, but Malkia Strikers’ Veronica Adhiambo dug in to claim three straight points as her team inched close 13-8.

Belinda Barasa’s strike also gave Malkia some hopes at 16-11, but the Japanese put the Kenyans to the sword, scoring as much to win the first set.  

The second set proved a thriller when Nanjala’s exploits put them ahead 4-2 before a set error saw the Japanese level at 5-5 in a see-saw affair.

Sarina Nishida and Mayu Ishikawa combined well to give Japan the lead 10-6 before Pamella Adhiambo's attack and Veronica Adhiambo’s block secured the points even though they trailed 10-9.

It was a stalemate at 11-11, 17-17 and 18-18 as Japan gained one-point lead through the set before escaping with the victory to deny the Kenyans.

The third set looked easy for Japan to lead 10-4, 15-7, 20-8 before winning 25-12.

Great opportunity

Team captain Triza Atuka said that they have drawn many lessons from Paris where they were drawn against highly ranked teams.

“Our pool wasn’t an easy one since these are experienced teams that have won Olympic medals before and we had to do our best,” said Atuka, adding that the outing was golden since it gave them an opportunity to showcase their talent.

“These Olympics were the first for some of us, hence a great opportunity because I am certain some will secure professional contracts since we had scouts from major European sides around,” said Atuka, explaining that having them play outside the country will help improve the standards of the game.

Atuka singled out Sharon Chepechumba as a good example of how professional volleyball can transform a country.

Talking about their duel with Japan, Atuka said they really thirsted for victory especially in the second set where they almost pulled an upset.

“Victory would have changed the match and that is why we switched off in the third set courtesy of a bad start,” said Atuka, acknowledging that they really missed Chepchumba, who sat at the terraces, nursing an injury.

"It has been a tough learning process for us. We have tried our level best and we have a good team for the future," said Malkia Strikers deputy coach Josp Baraza.

Baraza said there is no good luck as such hence Kenya must be competitive enough, something that comes through with good preparations. 

"We really wanted to win our maiden set at the Olympics but we lost concentration against Japan especially in the second set," said Baraza.