Kenya Prisons clinched this year’s Nyerere Volleyball Championship men’s title after defeating hosts Magereza by 3-1 sets at the Indoor National Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Saturday evening.
Prisons, who finished sixth in Kenya Volleyball Premier League, stayed undefeated since the competition begun in the midst of last week and they were given high priority of winning the trophy due to their fine displays during the tournament.
Prisons’ centre player Ronald Mcheche and David Kipricho did a lot of work to check their opponents and their skills contributed much to the team’s victory.
Kipricho was voted the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) while Magereza’s player was declared the Best Spiker.
This is the second year in a row Kenyan teams win the men’s trophy. Last year’s winners were Gawasco. Magereza emerged champions in the women’s category after edging out their compatriots Jeshi Stars 3-2 in a thrilling final which kept the spectators on their toes throughout.
Tanzania Volleyball Association (TVA) Technical Committee Chairman, Somo Kimwaga, told the ‘Daily News’ yesterday that the main reason for Tanzania teams to perform poorly in the competition is lack of local competitions.
“Champions Prisons are participating in the Kenya Premier League but we don’t have such a competition here,” he said.
He added: “Kenya also have third, second and first division volleyball leagues which keep their teams busy for most of the time.
The competitions also raise volleyball awareness and boost the performance of their players.” Kimwaga, however, noted that though there was a poor attendance of teams the competition was impressive and all the participating teams gave their all in search of the trophy.
The tournament was organized by the Dar es Salaam Regional Volleyball Association (DAREVA) in cooperation with TAVA, with a view to promoting the game.
By FRANK KIMARO, Tanzania Daily News