Ruthless Kenya hammer Uganda in Africa Nations Championship

In Yaounde

Malkia Strikers’ march to an unprecedented 10th African title continued unscathed on Friday when they humbled neighbours Uganda 3-0 (25-15, 25-16,25-14) at the Complexe Sportif Mfandena here in Yaounde.

Kenya coach Luizomar de Moura recalled star opposite Sharon ‘Chumba’ Chepchumba to his first six for the first time in this competition. Having recovered from her ankle injury, she started ahead of Loice Simiyu while the rest of the squad remained unchanged.

“Chumba is one of the most important players in our team and after today we are optimistic, she will now be ready for the crucial stages of this competition,” said Luizomar.

Uganda arrived in this fixture buoyed by their 3-2 win over Morocco on Thursday but they were given a timely reminder that Kenya was a different side altogether when Veronica Adhiambo landed three consecutive aces to hand Kenya a 6-3 lead.

“Veronica’s services have been improving with every game and it’s an important weapon for this team. We want her to perfect it in every match we play,” observed Luizomar.

Uganda coach Peter Lakony called for a time out with the scores reading 8-4 but Kenya’s momentum only grew from there as Chepchumba and Edith Wisa killed overpasses from Catherine Ainembabazi and Margret Namyalo to take the scores to 10-04.

Veronica Adhiambo’s pipe attack helped Kenya open a seven-point lead at 14-07 and there was no looking back as Malkia Strikers completed the first set at 25-15 via Trizah Atuka’s tip through the middle.

Uganda returned a rejuvenated side in the second set, racing to a 6-2 lead thanks to good service from Joan Tushemereirwe and Eunice Amuron.

Adhiambo’s ace brought Kenya to within a point of the Ugandans but Lakony’s charges stretched further ahead 14-11 after reception troubles returned.

A litany of unforced errors from Uganda saw Kenya draw level at 14-14 and the gulf in class between the two sides showed from then. Wisa’s blocked Tushemereirwe to hand Kenya a two-point lead at 16-14 and when Adhiambo’s cross court spike landed on Uganda’s side, the scoreboard read 21-16.

Atuka delivered the set point with a stuff block on Tushemereirwe before Adhiambo sealed the set at 25-16 with a powerful cross court spike.

“This arena is not the best so we face some issues with lighting on the other side of the court. We hope to get more time to train in them and adapt since the slots that we are being given make it difficult for us especially when we have our matches early the next day.

“it’s good that we encounter such challenges during matches because it tests our mental strength. It is great to see how they adjusted and played according to our plan,” explained Luizomar.

Once again, Uganda matched Kenya point for point in the early exchanges until Adhiambo landed an ace to open a two-point gap at 6-4. Mercy Moim pulled a monster block on Jennifer Alungat as Kenya raced to a 10-5 lead.

Lakony called for a time out with Kenya leading 16-11 but there was no stopping Malkia Strikers as they took full control at 20-14 allowing Luizomar to make a double substitution.

Loice Simiyu and Rose Magoi entered the fray and instantly made their contribution felt. Simiyu’s dodge landed at position two while Magoi made two aces.

Wisa delivered the match point with her trademark spike through the middle before Moim put the match to bed at 25-14 with a classy kill.

“Yesterday we watched them against Morocco and collected data to analyse them. We are happy the team responded well and it was a good performance overall,” noted Luizomar.

Kenya now have nine points from three matches and face Morocco at 6pm EAT on Friday.