Kenya U20 women beat Cameroon in African Championships volleyball title

Jackline Barasa’s charges kept their cool to overcome the hosts despite the home and 12th man advantage at the Yaounde Sports Complex, the Kenyan beauties fought hard to narrowly clinch the first set with a 26-24 victory. 

Cameroon came back stronger to clinch the second set 25-19 in a tense encounter to send the home fans into thunderous applause.

However, Barasa rallied her troops to emerge winners in the third set with a close score of 28-26, before rounding up the fourth set with a superior 25-16 win.

The victory not only saw the Malkias serve revenge on their 3-1 loss to Cameroon in the group stage, but also book their ticket to the World Championships in Surabaya, Indonesia.

Kenya beat Egypt 3-0 in the semifinals, while the hosts thrashed Senegal 3-0 in the other semifinal.

Barasa said Cameroon were a bit confused and looked frightened on the big stage, which gave them the advantage.

“We played well, but our opponents looked scared of us. Despite beating us 3-1 in the preliminary last week, we controlled the game and won our maiden title with minimal difficulties”.

Kenya Volleyball Federation Deputy President Paul Bitok congratulated the juniors for the remarkable performance and wished them all the best in the world championships.

“I would like to congratulate the U20 Junior Malkia Strikers for making history. They defeated Cameroon 3–1 to become African champions, just like their senior sisters who claimed their 10th title last year. As the Kenya Volleyball Federation, we are proud of our junior team for winning their first-ever African title and massively qualifying for the World Championship," said Bitok, who formerly coached Malkia strikers. 

Meanwhile, Malyne "Terry" Tata Idachi was named the MVP (Most Valuable Player) in the tournament for her outstanding performance.

Egypt beat Senegal 3-0 in sets of (25-12, 25-05, 25-19) to clinch the Bronze medal in the third-place play-offs.