Cameroon’s Women volleyball team defeats Kenya by 3-1 in 2011 All Africa Games semi-final
The Cameroon Women’s Volleyball team was able to defeat their Kenyans counterparts by 3-1 in the semi-final of the 2011 All Africa Games on the September 6th. The tournament is currently taking place in Maputo, Mozambique. The venue of the match
was the Maxaquene Hall.
The first set of the 110 minute game saw both the teams put on a commendable show that caused the frame to be longer than usual. In the end, it was Kenya that was able to make the opening set win. The second set went smoothly for the most part but Cameroon
was able to speed up in the end and equalise the match. The third set of the game was the most intense as it saw both the teams reach multiple tie breaks in the final stages. However, it was Cameroon that proved to be the better of the two. Kenya seemed to
be drained of energy after a long and hard third set while Cameroon kept on playing skilful volleyball that got them the match at the following final set scores: 24-26, 25-22, 31-29 and 25-20.
The Cameroon side was able to outperform their rivals in almost all aspects of the game. Kenya was especially deficient in reception all through the match. The draw backs of the weak Kenyan reception were particularly seen in the second as well as the third
sets. In order to address the issue, the coach of the Kenyan team, David Lungaho, made several changes in the squad that shifted most players from the court to the bench and vice versa. Unfortunately for Kenya, all it did was to decrease the motivation level
of the players and further affect their performance.
In comparison with the play of the African champions, the fifth ranked Kenyan team was consistent in their performance that kept the pressure on their rivals all through the match.
The first set win that the Kenyans were able to manage was achieved largely because of the efforts of Jane Wacu who plays as the setter as well as two middle blockers Brakcides Khadambi and Diana Khisa. However, these three could not compensate for the poor
reception that prevailed in the second and the third sets.
In comparison, the attack of the Cameroon players was very strong and their defence was also working collaboratively to make it harder for the Kenyans to score points. The combination of a good attack along with a good defence proved to be lethal for the
Kenyans who were suffering from a lack of skill as well as demoralization.
It is not for the first time that Cameroon is headed towards the final of the tournament, they came to the championship match in the last All Africa Games.
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