Tarus happy to have challengers to the KVF throne

The Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) men's league has, for a long time, been a two-horse race with holders General Service Unit (GSU) and Kenya Prisons exchange hold on the title. 

A third force in Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) has, however, emerged after coach Sammy Mulinge joined the dockers breathing a new life to the Mombasa-based side that had for several seasons failed at breaking to the top two. 

KPA seemed ripe for a top-two finish in the 2018 playoff season but it was not until the 2019 season that Mulinge's charges got the better of Kenya Prisons, relegating them to third place as they claimed the second position behind the defending champions. 

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On their debut in the Africa Club Championships held in Tunisia last month, KPA managed a fifth-place finish to further endear themselves as a serious title contender for the local league. GSU came in seventh at the African tourney. 

GSU tactician Gideon Tarus has, however, welcomed the challenge that KPA is posing saying that it is good for the league and Kenyan volleyball to have such competition at the local league. 

"I am happy that now we have the challenge to look forward to. The dominance that we have enjoyed in the local league can lead to complacency because no team is challenging us to change how we execute our plays. That means all season we could easily keep training the same way. This season is, however, different," he said,

"As a coach, I am not afraid of losing a match, stagnation is scarier. If and when the time comes that I lose a match in the league, that will just ignite my fire to get my team even better," he added adding that what Mulinge is doing at KPA is commendable and he has changed the way the team plays which is good for Kenyan Volleyball. 

The two sides are yet to meet in the regular season.