Luizomar sounds battle cry to rally Malkia Strikers into new legacy

Time is up for national women's volleyball team, Malkia Strikers', preparations and on Tuesday 20 September, they leave Serbia ready for battle in Netherlands. 

The Belgrade camp culminates the team's build up for the FIVB Women’s World Championships set to serve off on 23 September in Netherlands and Poland. 

This weekend, coach Luizomar de Moura led the side to a straight-sets victory in their last friendly match, against Serbia national team B, having lost to the country’s league and Cup champions Red Star Belgrade by a similar scoreline on Saturday. 

Perfect sign-off for Malkia ahead of world championship battle

While outlining the lessons picked from the Belgrade camp as well as expectations ahead of the 19th edition of the global showpiece, tye Brazilian tactician says this is Kenya's chance to build a new legacy on the world stage. 

"From the two matches played, I am impressed with the performance but we still have a long journey ahead of us. It will be a tough challenge playing in the World Championships. We have to, however, acknowledge that the team has improved massively despite there being areas that still need working on. 

This commitment from the player, bench and volleyball community in Kenya to see the team get better is important. I am expecting to see the team fighting in Netherlands to achieve set goals and show a new Kenyan volleyball spirit," offered coach Moura in an interview after Sunday's friendly match. 

Malkia Strikers had been in Brazil for a two-month training camp organised and funded by the global body FIVB with Mozzart Bet, National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) and the national federation coming in to ensure the team's stay in Osasco, Sao Paulo is smooth. 

The team then flew to Belgrade, Serbia on 15 September where they were hosted at the Kovilovo Resort, a sports facility that has over the years been the training centre for the country’s national teams. 

Here, Mozzart Bet who are part of the sponsors to the Serbian women's volleyball team that will be in Netherlands to defend the world title and the Colombian team organised the two high-level friendly matches while also ensuring the team gets accustomed to the Europe timeline and weather at this time. 

"The months we have had to prepare is, obviously not enough time to get the team competing with the best in this championship for the medals so we have to think about the future as well. 

There are some specific points that we need to address concerning the two matches we played in Serbia. However, the biggest difference between the Red Star match and Sunday's game is that we made fewer mistakes and that translated into a way better performance. This gives us confidence going into competition," added Moura. 

The tactician maintains that calling for timeout almost immediately after the players made a costly mistake, in the Serbian B match, had nothing to do with an emotional response but rather a tactical move to help the team focus on the next cause of action. 

"Each specific match has its own game plan and it is important for the players to know when to make their own decisions during a match as that gives them the confidence to play better. The timeouts are not necessarily to correct said mistakes but to strategise for the next plays. 

We were able to get points from different players and in different scoring ways but what was more satisfying was watching the younger players step up in this match. 

We played against a European young team and these are the same players that will face off with Malkia Strikers in future and their performance gives a glimpse of hope in what the future holds. These teams now know we are getting better with each match and they will have quite the opponent in Kenya soon," he explained. 

According to the tactician, there is a need to get the right investment for the youngsters as the country looks to become a force to reckon with in volleyball circles outside Africa. 

"We can see from the friendly matches in Serbia that the team is showing a different volleyball from what Kenyans are used to. We have a young team with some players who will be getting their first cap at the World Championship. We need to build on their experience at this level as we strive to build a new legacy for Kenyan volleyball," he expressed. 

According to the tactician, there is a need to get the right investment for the youngsters as the country looks to become a force to reckon with in volleyball circles outside Africa. 

"We can see from the friendly matches in Serbia that the team is showing a different volleyball from what Kenyans are used to. We have a young team with some players who will be getting their first cap at the World Championship. We need to build on their experience at this level as we strive to build a new legacy for Kenyan volleyball," he concluded.