Omuse, Ngeny new faces in Kenyas squad for Zone V qualifiers

Kenya’s men senior volleyball team head coach Moses Epoloto has named two debutants in his final squad for the Africa Zone Five All African Games qualifiers which will be held from June 2 to 8 at the Kasarani Indoor Arena.

Equity’s right attacker Kelvin Omuse and Kenya Ports Authority’s (KPA) Sammy Ngeny have made it to the squad for the first time.

Also in the Epoloto’s 12-man strong squad is captain Jairus Kipkosgei of Prisons, hard-hitting right-attacker Mike Chemos who will be relied upon to give guidance owing to his wealth of experience and seasoned setter Kelvin Kiokosgei.

The team has been conducting intensive training at the Kasarani Indoor Arena for the last three weeks and it is a massive shot in their arms after the Italian coach Shailene Ramdoo who helped Malkia Strikers clinch the corresponding women ticket last week in Uganda joined them in the camp.

The latter was seconded to Kenya Volleyball Federation by International Volleyball Federation (FIVB)  for a six-month deal.

The national team’s technical director David Lung’aho, who doubles up as the Kenya Prisons men head coach, challenged the team to prove their mettle by emulating the heroic performance of their female counterparts.

“I think we have the best squad now which can propel us back to Africa Games because we have new faces and experienced players too which is good.  Also, after Malkia Strikers did it last week, the men have vowed to prove they can because we want both teams to be in Morocco,” he told Citizen Digital.

Kenya’s men team last played at the All African Games in 2011 in Mozambique winning bronze and Lung’aho believes the presence of Ramdoo has bolstered the technical bench which will help the team shine in the six-day competition.

“We can feel his presence and his tactics are up to date because as I have always been saying volleyball is evolving scientifically. We are ready for the qualifiers and I ask all the fans to turn up in large numbers to cheer our team at Kalahari, ” he added.

Zone V brings together 12 countries and is the largest in the CAVB region. The countries in the zone include Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya’s long-time rivals Egypt, Tanzania and Sudan.

Others are Somalia, Ethiopia,  Burundi,  South Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea.