Eyes on playoffs as KVF league finale heads to Kapsabet

Action galore is expected Thursday and Friday in Kapsabet, when the  curtains come down n the Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) national league with the battle for top-four finish expected to highlight the final and seventh leg.

The top four teams book the playoffs tickets for both men and women, set for next month at the Kasarani Indoor Arena, to determine the 2019 winners and 2020 Africa Club Championship representatives.

Thirteen-time and defending league men champions General Service Unit (GSU) are hoping to guard their unbeaten record and go all the way and book a playoff slot.

GSU’s Team Manager Nicholas Kimeli is upbeat his charges will rule the Kapsabet meet, having made light work in the previous six legs to top the 12-team league on 21 points jointly with Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) who has inferior sets ratio.

 “Despite our 100 percent win record, we should not sleep on our laurels in the final meet as they eye the playoffs slot because anything can happen,” he said.

Kenya Prisons sit third with 18 points, two below GSU with Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) taking the final play-offs position jointly with Equity but have superior point ratio.

GSU will serve off the final leg against Mombasa Prisons at 9.00am on Thursday before winding up the season with rivals Kenya Prisons 1.00pm.

Women’s contest pretty exciting

In women’s category, leaders Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) head coach Japeth Munala has already set his eyes on play-offs.

The former Kenya Pipeline tactician who missed the penultimate league as he was away with the women’s national team in Japan for World Cup says his top guns are ready to wrap up the league in style.

“I want to finish the league as leaders and go all the way to win the tournament on Sunday which will serve as a good warm up ahead of the dreaded play-offs,” Munala told Citizen Digital.

The Bankers have already qualified for the playoffs after opening up an unassailable 12-point lead with only one match to go. They are penciled to play eighth placed Kenya Army.

At the same time, defending champions Kenya Prisons who occupy the final playoff position on seven points jointly with Bungoma County team must defeat the latter and eighth placed Kenya Army to sail through.

Fresh from winning the Nyerere Cup in Tanzania, Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) women’s volleyball team are also targeting a piece of the pie.

DCI sits second on nine points, three behind leaders KCB and will line up against former champions Kenya Pipeline, Prisons and KDF as they eye to return to the play-offs.

The two-day event will precede the Nandi County Volleyball Tournament sponsored by the county government running on Saturday and Sunday.