Kenya Prisons wont settle for bronze Coach Lungaho

The Kenya Prisons Head Coach David Lung’aho expressed his desire to see the side that finished third at the recently concluded Africa Women’s Volleyball Club championships go a step better during next year’s campaign.

Carthage brought Prison’s bid for a sixth continental title to an unsuccessful end at the semi-finals held in Monastir, Tunisia as the home side triumphed 3-1 (25-21, 25-13, 24-26, 25-12) and went on to clinch the final 3-2 against Egyptian side El-Shams.

The silver was El-Shams’ first ever African medal as Carthage lifted the title for the first time in their history, becoming only the second Tunisian club to celebrate it after Club Africain, who won the trophy four times before.

The Kenya Prisons won bronze after outlasting 2016 champions Ahly in a captivating five-setter 3-2 (25-13, 10-25, 25-20, 22-25, 10-15) in the third place playoff.

Lung’aho said the team had gathered sizeable momentum towards the close of the continental championship and hoped his charges will carry it on to the domestic league.

“Last year we finished seventh but have managed to improve on that by finishing in the top three in this year’s championships. For me, beating a big team like Alhy is not a small achievement. I’m impressed because I feel we gave it our best,” Lung’aho told Citizen Digital.

The last time a Kenyan side won the continental crown was in 2013 when Prisons beat GSP of Algeria in Madagascar.

Between Prisons and their national archrivals Kenya Pipeline, the two titans have accumulated 12 continental trophies but Lung’aho warned the country is drifting off the pecking order.

He warned the North Africans are tightening their grip on the elite club competition and urged for a quick turnaround. The tactician cautioned the need for a change in training routines and greater emphasis on weak points are the only way Kenya will find its way back to the top and restore its continental swagger.

“There are areas that we all need to work on a lot. Both teams (Pipeline and Prisons) struggled with serving of the ball. In other departments we all did exemplary well. We should train more on this,” he noted.

Earlier in the tournament the Pipeline and Prisons met in a mouthwatering all Kenyan affair only for the latter to suffer a painful 3-2 (13-25, 28-26, 25-19, 23-25, 15-13) thus allowing the wardresses to sail through to the semis.

Lung’aho also noted that Kenyan teams were not used to playing in indoor arenas, something that affected their performances at the continents elite competition.

“We need to train at the Kasarani facility more. We are used to training in an outdoor environment and only train at Kasasarani for about one or two months which is not enough. It would be better if we had more time which is a contrast of what our opponents outside there usually do,” Lung’aho underscored.

He urged all teams aiming to win the local volleyball league as well as play at the continental games next year to start their training early.

“Training for the African Club Championships should start now. Personally we will start analyzing our flaws next week so that we can have a period of one year to correct and work on those mistakes,” he added.

-Report by Mwangi Githinji.