KCB ladies volleyball team masterminded a historic come back to win the 2019 Kenya Volleyball Federation Tournament staged in Kitui county over the weekend.
KCB A won 3-2 with sets of 25-21,23-25,17-25,25-17 and 15-12 to be crowned the champions.
KCB Group Head of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Judith Sidi Odhiambo who is also the volleyball team patron lauded the coach and ladies on the feat.
“Congratulations are in order to the team, the were exceptionally good in Kitui from the onset and I wish them the best of luck in the 2019 season” said Judith.
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The bankers served off the finals with superb attacks and blocks to win the first set of the game. Both teams went on offensive in a game that saw KCB lose narrowly to Prisons in the second set by a 2 point margin.
With the victory, Prisons piled on pressure on KCB winning the next third set.Head Coach Japheth Munala made a tactical strategy that would see the bankers mount a formidable comeback to edge out Prisons for the first time in the finals.
Setter Joan Muindi was mandated to distribute the ball on the wings equally to Leonida Kasaya and Noel Murambi.
The hands of the two were swift and fast earning the bankers dozen of points.
New signing Loreen Chebet and Violet Makuto stemmed the flow of Prisons with precise blocks that frustrated their attackers hence stemming the flow of the game. KCB fought hard in the fourth set to finish the game at 25-17.
Their victory changed the whole game plan with both teams bosting of 2 sets wins.
From the onset of the 5th set it became unpredictable of who could have grabbed the victory. Hundreds of fans cheered on KCB as the battle for top glory continued.
KCB head Coach Japheth Munala would give occasional instructions to his squad as KCB took an early lead in the final set.
Good setting from Joan Muindi saw Leonida Kasaya drive a powerful spike through the prisons quarters while captain Noel Murambi added another superb attack to see KCB equalise 8-8 with Kenya Prisons.
Both teams went head to head in terms of the scores until the 12 point mark. Munala called for a time out that saw him change the blockers positions a move that would bear fruits.
Leonida Kasaya and Joan Muindi made the next consecutive serves for the bankers and great attacks from Violet Makuto and Leonida Kasaya saw KCB grab the much needed win.The victory means that KCB has now beaten Kenyan top teams Kenya Pipeline and Prisons with a 3-1 and 3-2 score margins.
Munala was a happy man after the weekend outing adding that KCB will seek to improve on their strength and remain a force to reckon with as the season continues
“It was a hard fought game with Prisons, they had downed me twice 3-1 and there was a need of change in our strategy especially in attacks and blocks, the players heeded to my advise and this paid off”,said Munala.
The journey to the finals saw KCB A survive a scare from KCB team B winning 3-2 in the semifinals.
Both teams were impressive in their pool matches with KCB B downing Bungoma County 3-1, Kwathanze 3-0 and DCI 3-0.
