Bitter affair in Japan as Malkia fall to Puerto

A few hours after experiencing for the first time a typhoon which hit Japan on Sunday night, Kenya women’s volleyball team, Malkia Strikers, lost her second consecutive FIVB Women’s World Championship match on Monday falling 3-0 sets to Puerto Rico in Hamamatsu Indoor Arena.

Prior to the match, the host nation was struck by the storm which reportedly left two people dead, 120  injured and thousands homeless.

It was to be a tough match following the fearful night and yes it was. Despite racking up 11 points, Malkia’s captain and wing attacker Mercy Moim’s starring performance could not salvage the nine-time African champions.

The Kenyan queens went down with sets of 25-20, 25-22 and 25-15 as the championship entered day three in six cities across the Far East country.

Puerto Rico’s Daly Santana notched a match-high 18 points, while teammate Stephanie Enright totaled 13 in the win followed by Moim with 11.

Following the win, the Caribbean island nation rose to the third position of the Pool D standings with six points after two wins and one lose with Kenya going down from fourth place to fifth with only three points.

Former champions Brazil, who face a litmus test against unbeaten Serbia later on Monday, lead Pool D with six points alongside the latter but with a higher set ratio difference.

Meanwhile, Malkia Strikers who target a second round spot in this year’s 18th edition must win one of their two remaining preliminary matches to finish amongst the top four in their pool.

The East-African queens are scheduled to face world beaters Brazil on Tuesday 1:20pm Kenyan time before wrapping up their preliminary matches against Dominican Republic on Wednesday.

On Saturday, Kenya claimed a historic 3-0 win against winless Kazakhistan before falling to Serbia with the same margin on Sunday.

In other Pool D match played Monday , Kenya’s Wednesday opponent Dominican Republic thrashed Kazakhstan by straight sets to register their first win in the three-week championship, a win which propelled them to the fourth position.

Elsewhere, other Africa’s representatives Cameroon, suffered their second consecutive defeat after falling to Netherlands by straight sets in Pool A third match played in Yokohama Indoor Arena.

The 2017 Africa champions who also claimed a historic win on Saturday after stunning Mexico 3-1 sets lost to the European nation with sets of 25-16, 26-24 and 25-18.