No respite for Wafalme Stars after Ghana defeat in Tunis

The national men’s volleyball team suffered a second consecutive straight-sets defeat at the Africa Nations Volleyball Championships after falling to Ghana at the El Menzah Stadium Indoor Arena in Tunis, Tunisia on Thursday.

Wafalme Stars lost 25-20, 25-23, and 25-20 to suffer another 3-0 set defeat following Wednesday’s loss to hosts Tunisia.

The result left the Kenyans bottom of the three-team Group A without a point.

Kenya, who finished ninth in the last two editions, return to the court on Sunday for a Round of 16 fixture against Algeria.

Head coach Gideon Tarus made three changes to his starting line up: KPA’s Brian Kamonde replaced Simion Kosirai in net defence while attackers Peter Kamara and Dennis Omolo were preferred over Enock Mogeni and Dennis Esekon.

For the second straight day, reception and backcourt defence proved costly as Ghana dominated in Kenya's traditional strengths, attacks and blocks.

Kenya drew first blood when Nicholas Matui rose high to block Ghana’s attack. Ghana responded immediately to level the match at 1-1 after another reception error allowed a powerful Ghanaian spike.

Poor blocking and reception continued to haunt Kenya as Ghana pushed ahead 3-1 before Matui answered with another spike to earn Tarus' side their second point.

Ghana then pulled away with aggressive spikes and solid net coverage, opening up an 8-2 lead and forcing Tarus into his first timeout.

Backcourt errors again proved costly during Ghana's run, with GSU’s Hudson Kipchumba committing two key defensive mistakes.

The stoppage sparked a quick recovery for Wafalme Stars as they went toe-to-toe with Ghana to cut the deficit to 12-9, forcing the West Africans into a timeout.

Despite the push, persistent errors in reception and service allowed Ghana to stretch their lead to 20-16, prompting Tarus's second timeout.

Tarus introduced Melly for Mogeni and brought on libero Kelvin Kipkosgei for Kamara. Matui immediately capitalized with a spike to close the gap to 20-18, forcing a second Ghanaian timeout. However, Ghana regrouped quickly to secure the opening set 25-20.

The second set featured an end-to-end battle. Kenya started strong once again, capitalizing on Ghanaian attack and net errors to build a 3-0 lead.

After Ghana pulled one back, a determined Kenyan attack led by Mogeni and Matui extended the lead to 8-4, forcing a Ghanaian timeout.

The stoppage favoured the West Africans, who countered Wafalme’s attacks with sharp net defence to close the gap to 10-9 and force a Kenyan timeout. Ghana capitalized on the momentum to tie the set at 11-11 before Kenya edged back ahead.

Tarus refreshed his net defence, introducing Kenya Airport Police Unit (KAPU) youngster Felix Ogembo for assistant captain Brian Kamonde.

Ghana quickly turned the tide to lead 16-14, prompting another Kenyan tactical change as Melly made way for Kipkosgei. Ghana countered with another spike to make it 17-14, forcing Kenya’s second timeout before Mogeni re-entered for Kamara.

Mogeni breathed fresh life into the attack, helping Kenya rally and force a Ghanaian timeout at 20-18.

Kenya maintained their drive out of the break to level the set at 20-20, but Ghana held their nerve in the tense closing moments to claim the set 25-23.

Ghana controlled the third set, closing out a 25-20 victory to secure a crucial bounce-back win following their Tuesday loss to Tunisia.