By Musyoka Kaleti
Kwanthanze High school has won again for the fifth time in the Eastern Region Secondary Schools’ Volleyball tournament held at Kangaru School in Embu County.
Kwanthanze had on Friday thrashed Nkondi secondary 3-0 to qualify for the finals while Kambi Mawe bombarded Ilika from Kitui 3-0 to qualify for the same initiating the meetup.
The champions made light work of their opponents as they beat Kambi Mawe girls’ three sets with their opponents failing to answer in the high-stakes match. Kambi Mawe volleyball team was floored by Kwanthanze by 3-0 sets in the final [25-15, 25-11 and 25-07].
Coach Justin Kigwari who has been training Kwanthanze team since he entered the school in 2013 expressed hope that his team will dominate in the national games slated for next week in Nakuru.
“The level of competition from the look of things is intensifying even though we have not lost any set since the zonal games. Since we met in 2019, things have changed in terms of competition hence there are many teams coming up strongly and I’m aware that at the nationals, it won’t be business as usual but we are very ready,” he said.
Spectators said the Kambi Mawe team put in a spirited fight despite fighting the much experienced East African champions.
“I am impressed how the Kambi Mawe girls have played the game which was tight, since Kwanthanze are not only champions of Kenya but also East Africa,” said Jacinta Ndwiga, one of the spectators.
In boys’ Volleyball, the region’s defending champion Matiliku Boys were awarded a 3-0 win by default. Their opponents Kajunduthi were found to have committed an irregularity where the match played four sets with the defending champion Matiliku leading 2-1.
Kenya Volleyball Federation Referee Joseph Migua was asked to call off the match in favor of Matiliku, the defending champions.
In Netball, Katwala of Kitui beat Kwanthanze of Machakos 42-32 to reclaim the title. They defended their championship in a match that was highly contested in the first minutes in their home ground.
In Rugby, All Saints High School of Embu County surprised their neighbor school Kangaru Boys by thrashing them 18-0. In 2019 Kangaru won a bronze medal in the East Africa Secondary School Games under their coach Benson Mwenda.
