It was a matchup between World defending Champs Serbia against Malkia Strikers however the Kenyans went down but this time, fighting hard. The Strikers came into the game determined to put on an improved performance after losing out to Japan and South Korea, all preliminary round games in Pool A. Serbia who are fierce World Champions beat the Kenyans 3-0, taking all sets; S1 25-21, S2 25-11, S3 25-20, Total being 75-52.
The first set saw the World Champions launch a quick attack that got them the first point through Milena Rasic 16 seconds into the game. The set went on and soon the Kenyans picked up full rythym when Skipper Mercy Moim and 22 year old Sharon Chepchumba who plays for KCB both got a total of 10 points from block and attacks. The resilience saw the Kenyans narrowly losing the first set 21-25, with the second one ending in an 11-25 loss.
Many Kenyans have heard mixed reactions on the Strikers performances with some openly expressing their opinions on social media.
"Volleyball is an indoor sport but in Kenya we play and train it outdoor for 99.90 percent of the year. Indoor balls and outdoor balls are different in weight and type (Mva 200 & Mva300 which is heavier because of wind dynamics.) Hiring Kasarani arena per hour is 8000 special rate for sports teams, if you train 6 hours per day morning (3)and evening (3) you pay 50k per day (almost equivalent to Annual budget of some teams and a quarter of league prize money). So technically we have players who train with an MVA 300 Ball going to meet world champions who have trained indoor since they were 10 years. The weight and strength used in massively different. Do the maths. Ten years ago the same world champion beat us 25 under 10, today we are pushing them to 26-24." Said Dennis Machio, a Sports Editor.
Malkia is scheduled to take on Brazil and the Dominican Republic in two of their last fixtures of the preliminary round.
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