Prisons guard volleyball unbeaten run as power outage disrupts fixtures

Western Prisons ran close in all the sets but Kenya Prisons stood tall to ward off their colleagues in the Prisons derby, winning in sets of 25-19, 25-21 and 25-20 to serve off the third leg on a flyer.

The win saw the Dennis Mokua coached side extend their lead at the apex of the league on 20 points after seven matches.

The champions will be seeking to wipe the floor with struggling National Youth Service (NSL) in their second fixture of the third leg on Friday 1pm.

They will then renew their unending rivalry with former champions GSU on Saturday, a fixture that the paramilitary coach Gideon Tarus has labelled “one for the books.”

In other matches played on Thursday at Nyayo Gymnasium, Trailblazers blew away Nairobi Prisons 3-0 sets (25-20, 25-19, 25-20) to stay on course for a top-eight finish with the end of season playoffs in mind.

Traiblazers head coach Moses Epoloto, a former national team coach, said their performance in the regular league will determine their outing during the playoffs.

“The game was balanced, but we didn’t expect such competition from our opponents. They are worthy challengers. However, we have a strategy for every team, and we will approach each match accordingly. I’m happy with the three points and looking forward to the remaining games.”

They next face Prisons Rift Valley on Friday followed by a clash against Western Prisons on Saturday and then wrap up the third leg with a match against NYS.

Kenya Forest Service (KFS) cruised to a 3-0 victory against winless National Youth Service (NYS) while KDF triumphed over Administration Police with the same score line.

Kenya Army floored Rift Valley Prisons winning in straight sets of 25-21, 25-18 and 25-14.

Power outage

Meanwhile, the match between GSU and Equity Bank was halted due to power outage that hit the facility in the afternoon and rescheduled for February 15.

Equity were leading 9-5 in the third set after set scores of 27-25 (Equity) and 24-26 (GSU) in the first two sets.

Kenya Volleyball Federation deputy president Paul Bitok said the match will be replayed afresh.

“The fixture will be played again during the Kenya Cup which begins on February 15. We will align so that we can accommodate the replay,” Bitok told Citizen Digital.

The third leg continues Friday with seven matches lined up at Nyayo Gymnasium.