Cameroon strike Malkia twice to retain African title

Cameroon are Women's CAVB African Nations Championship champions after edging out a resilient Malkia Strikers 3-1 in the final to retain their title in a match that Kenya was seeking not only for the title but also for retribution.

This is the third time that Cameroon has defeated Kenya in the final, with the other two being in the previous editions of 2017 and 2019.

By qualifying to the final, Malkia Strikers booked one of the two tickets to next year's World Championship that will be hosted in Poland and Netherlands.

Paul Bitok named a strong starting six of Sharon Chepchumba, Esther Mutinda, Agripina Kundu, Leonida Kasaya, Edith Wisa ,Gladys Ekaru and team captain Mercy Moim to tackle Cameroon and avenge the opening match deeds.

In the first set, Cameroon were the dominant side and led into both technical timeouts, with Malkia Strikers rarely leading in the set.

The Cameroonian blockers were doing a great job to neutralize the threats posed by Chepchumba in the first set but the attacker was unstoppable as she helped Malkia give the opponents a run for their money.

The Paul Bitok-coached side showed great improvement from the team that played in the opening game, with the services being better and rarely was a point lost from that but still went on to lose 25-21.

In the second set, Kenya led for the better part of the period, leading in both technical timeouts but it was Cameroon who took the lead when it really mattered to upset the Kenyan girls in one of the hotly contested set.

Just after going level on points at 17-17, Cameroon called for a timeout and it worked in their favor as they took control of the set henceforth to see it off at 25-23.

Malkia Strikers were dealt a blow early in third set following the injury of Ekaru after starting the set by scoring the first point but Lorine Chebet stepped into the court to make sure that there was no void left.

This was a must win set for Malkia Strikers to keep their hopes of clinching the trophy alive and they left their all on the court.

The introduction of Chebet was a blessing in it's own as Kenya dominated the set from 5-4 up and never looked back, going all the way to win it 25-15 with the substitute playing a key role.

The fourth set was a more heated one and the two teams went neck-to-neck as Chebet shone once again.

While Cameroon took the lead into the first technical timeout in the set, Malkia staged a comeback to lead 16-14 into the second one.

A poor service while tied at 23-23 in the fourth set gifted Cameroon the match point and they went ahead to finish it off 25-23.