KPA men's team won their two preliminary matches at the ongoing Bitok International tournament to book a quarters slot a
Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) men's team won their two preliminary matches at the ongoing Bitok International tournament to book a quarters slot as the best placed team in their pool.
The Sammy Mulinge-led side fielded Dennis Omollo and Peter Kamara who are ineligible to feature in the local league, having played overseas this season.
The duo were a great addition for the dockers and played a huge role in helping the side pick straight-sets victories against their opponents of the day Kenya Army and Equity Bank.
"Our weapon for the two matches was service and good back court defense. We knew that the matches will not be easy to handle so we prepared well.
The two preliminary teams turned oug not to be as tough. Against Equity, our good services disrupted their game plan so we kept serving hard and also blocked well, which made it easy for us to win," Omollo who is captaining the side in the tournament offered.
Meanwhile, league champions General Service Unit (GSU) had an easy win over Kenya Airports Police Unit (KAPU) to book their ticket to the quarters unbeaten.
Their second match of the day was not played as pool A opponents Rwanda Air were a no-show.
In pool D, Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) came from a set down to shock former champions Prisons Kenya 3-2 in a five-set thriller played at Ulinzi Complex.
Head coach Elisha Aliwa says the military side came prepared for a tough clash against the David Lung'aho-led warders and they gave their all in the clash for the win.
"We knew that we had lost to Prisons in the league but there was a chance to beat them if we played well. I am happy my players did not let past results affect their performance and we picked a crucial win.
This is a morale booster for the team, not only in the tournament but in the league as well. The team is getting better with each match and we will fight for more in this tournament," Aliwa offered.
Select men's results
POOL A
KAPU VS GSU (0-3)
Set 1: 16-25
Set 2: 07-25
Set 3: 14-25
POOL B
KPA VS KENYA ARMY (3-0)
Set 1: 25-14
Set 2: 25-19
Set 3: 25-23
KPA VS EQUITY BANK (3-0)
Set 1: 25-12
Set 2: 25-19
Set 3: 25-21
POOL C
PRISONS NAIROBI VS TRAILBLAZERS (0-3)
Set 1: 23-25
Set 2: 19-25
Set 3: 22-25
POOL D
KDF VS PRISONS KENYA (3-2)
Set 1: 20-25
Set 2: 25-21
Set 3: 19-25
Set 4: 25-19
Set 5: 15-12