Chesamis, Kesogon lift national volleyball titles in Thika

The Western Region representatives clinched the title in style, capitalising on the disqualification of former powerhouse Malava Boys and thriving under the guidance of head coach Isaac Muresha to secure an emphatic victory.

Chesamis drew first blood with a decisive spike before Chepsaita responded to level the opening set at 1-1. Chepsaita’s erratic serves quickly played into Chesamis’ hands, allowing the Western Region champions to build a 21-19 lead and force a Chepsaita timeout. 

The brief break failed to shift the momentum, as a resilient Chesamis held their nerve to close out a tightly contested first set 25-23.

The second set unfolded quite differently with Chepsaita unleashing their full attacking arsenal to turn the tables on Chesamis. Although Chesamis served off brilliantly, taking an early lead courtesy of a miscalculated spike from Chepsaita, the Rift Valley giants stormed back with five consecutive spikes to lead 5-1. 

The run prompted coach Muresha to call an early timeout.

Chepsaita maintained their ruthless dominance, with their on-form attackers dismantling the Chesamis defense to stretch the lead to 20-10. 

Despite a tactical substitution from Chesamis, the damage was done as a relentless Chepsaita side leveled the match with a commanding 25-14 win.

The third and fourth sets brought another thrilling showcase, this time swinging decisively back in favour of Chesamis. A rejuvenated squad outfought Chepsaita to seal the title with 25-22 and 25-18 set victories, respectively.

In a post-match interview, head coach Muresha praised his team for their relentless performance.

"I'm happy to reign supreme today. We came here as underdogs but that did not derail us from winning the title. We are just getting started and our next target is the East African title," noted Muresha.

In the third-place playoff, Eastern region representatives Matiliku Boys bagged the bronze medal after edging Masara 3-2 in a five-set thriller to book the final slot to the East Africa Games set for Morogoro, Tanzania.

In the girls' category, former champions Kesogon made light work of Soweto of Nairobi, whitewashing them in straight sets (25-13, 25-10, 25-18) to claim their second national crown. 

The 2023 champions capitalized on the early elimination of giants and immediate champions Kwanthanze to reclaim the girls’ crown in dominant fashion. 

Meanwhile, St. Martha Mwitoti of Western brushed off Kwanthanze 3-1 to take home the girls’ bronze medal.

In netball, Rift Valley’s Andersen thumped Western’s Bukhokholo 49-37 to secure the title, while Kaya Tiwi took home the bronze after cruising past Kinale 57-17.