KVFL: KDF down Equity to move closer to playoff slot

Elisha Aliwa and Sila Makiso engineered a straight sets win for Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) men's team against Equity Bank at the Nyayo National Stadium to move closer to qualifying for the Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) men's league playoff where they intend to better their prevous years' performance with a podium finish.

Heading to the crucial encounter trailing the bankers on ratio difference, the two tactician knew that a lose could easily mean they miss out on the playoffs, for the first time since 2016 and they came loaded with ammunition to silence Equity who are looking to feature in the playoffs for the first time. 

The soldier maintained a calm demeanour in pre-match training while Equity exuded confidence but it was a case of quiet before a storm. From the onset of the match, KDF let their points do the talking, taking a 8-2 lead. The bankers were unable to plot a comeback as they went on to lose the set 25-18. 

The Sammy Kirongo-coached bankers returned for the second ond set with vengeance, pushing the soldier to the limit but were unable to break even as KDF went on to win the closely fought set 28-26, their blockers doing the dirty work for coach Aliwa and Makiso. 

It was a mind game in the third set, KDF celebrating each point like it was their match-winning play while the bankers tried to force the soldier into mistakes, in the end, the soldiers held on for a 25-22 set win to secure victory.

"That hurdle is over but we still have two more matches to play on Sunday. We are happy for the win but the real job needs to be done on Sunday. The slightest of slip-ups and our playoff chances could be blown," 

"They (Equity) were confident of carrying the day and we used that to our advantage. They have been strong this season but we had studied their game and knew what to do to beat them. Our service and defence worked well. They have a strong libero player so our services were aimed away from him and that frustrated their attackers as they had to receive the ball and then do alot of work to get to the blocks," offered assistant coach Makiso. 

The tactician credits the players' mental strength in the second and third sets as having played a big part in their win. 

"We tried to cover our bases and also diversify our attack to include back court attack. Cornelius Kiprotich was outstanding in the back but we are yet to perfect that. In the final set, I knew the pressure was on them so I instructed my players to celebrate each point as that would throw them off, despite the small margins between the scores and it worked. We now shift our focus to Sunday's matches which are the most crucial in the regular league now," Makiso added. 

Other matches

In other matches, holders General Service Unit (GSU) had an easy time picking a 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-20) win against Vihiga County to extend their unbeaten run to 11 wins ahead of their clash with title hopefuls Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) on Sunday. 

Prisons Mombasa were the better side against their fellow warders Western Prisons as they picked a 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-20) while Kenya Forest Service (KFS) withstood a tough battle against Administration Police (AP) Kenya for a 3-1(25-16, 25-20, 20-25, 25-23) win. 

Rift Valley Prisons subjected Kenya Army to yet another defeat in a 3-0(26-24, 25-20, 25-21) outcome. Another Prisons derby saw Mombasa beat their Nairobi counterparts in a five-set thriller, the only for the day that ended 25-22, 25-22, 20-25, 26-28, 15-13. 

KFS picked a second win of the day, 3-1,against Western Prisons while AP Kenya came from a set down to beat Rift Valley Prisons 3-1.