Kenya women's national volleyball team

Kenya women's national volleyball team
The Kenya women's national volleyball team, the Malkia Strikers, represents Kenya in international volleyball competitions. Kenya has dominated the African continent since the 1990s, winning the Women's African Volleyball Championship a record of ten times. They have qualified three times for the Olympics; in 2000, 2004 and for the postponed 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Kenya also has a beach volleyball team, who were the only women's team at the Tokyo Olympics. Kenya's women's sitting volleyball team did not qualify for Tokyo.
History
Women were not invited to play volleyball at the All-Africa Games until 1978. Those games were in Algiers, Algeria and Kenya did not send a team. The team was there in 1991 for the Volleyball at the 1991 All-Africa Games where they were first. They were also in Cairo when eight teams were present for the 1991 Women's African Volleyball Championship and Kenya again took the gold medal.
Violet Barasa, as national team captain, lead the national team to its appearances at the 2000 Summer Olympics and the 2004 Summer Olympics. At both events they finished eleventh.
In 2006 the team's coach was the Japanese coach Sadatoshi Sugawara who was assisted by Paul Bitok. They contested the FIVB World Championships in Japan although the team was said to lack professional players as the chosen team were students or players who were based in Japan.
In 2007 their coach Sammy Kirongo led them to a seventh Women's African Volleyball Championship victory. That year's championships was in Nairobi and the final was against Algeria. The Kenyan team included Brackcides Agala, Janet Wanja, Dorcas Ndasaba and Catherine Wanjiru. Mildred Odwako was said to be the "best digger" and Janet Wanja was the "best setter". Dorcas Ndasaba was judged "best player" after she gained the final point to deliver victory in straight sets.
In 2008 they failed to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics after they were beaten by Algeria and four years later Algeria again denied them qualification for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
In 2015 Brackcides Agala was the captain of the team and Janet Wanja assisted her. The team announced that they refused to play for the 2015 FIVB World Grand Prix in Canberra after several victories. The players were annoyed that they had not been paid money that had been promised by the Kenya Volleyball Federation. The boycott was successful and the team played and won against Peru. However, the KVF were not pleased and when the team's were announced for the 2016 Summer Olympics neither Khadambi or her assistant Janet Wanja were asked to the qualifying matches and the team failed to qualify.
In 2020, under the new head coach of Paul Bitok, Kenya's women's volleyball team won the gold medal at the African Games and they qualified for the postponed 2020 Summer Olympics which was the first time in sixteen years.
2020 Olympics
Kenya women's volleyball team qualified for the postponed 2020 Summer Olympics by winning the pool round with three match points and securing an outright berth at the African Olympic Qualification Tournament in Yaoundé, Cameroon, marking the nation's return to the Olympics for the first time since Athens 2004.
The chosen players names were revealed on 26 June 2021. The Olympic team included the veteran Mercy Moim as captain and Jane Wacu also made the team, but former players Violet Makuto and Elizabeth Wanyama were not included. Kenya's "Most Valued Player" Brackcides Agala was included in the beach volleyball team. The team received additional coaching from six Brazilian coaches who visited Kenya and the team was then sent to Nairobi where they received additional coaching from the Brazilian coach . The other teams in their group in Tokyo are the home team Japan, Serbia, Brazil, Korea and the Dominican Republic.
The team set off from Kenya for the Olympics in Tokyo in three batches to try and minimise the chances of being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The team's captain Mercy Moim was chosen to be one of Kenya's flagbearers at the Olympics opening ceremony (Moim was the second woman to be given this honour following archer Shazad Anwar in 2016).
Their opening match was on 25 July in Tokyo against Japan. Surprisingly Paul Bitok was not on the match's touchline, but Brazilian coach was announced as the head coach. He spoke to the press via the team manager. The team lost their first match against Japan in straight sets.
Current squad
The following is Kenya's roster for the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship
Head Coach: Luizomar de Moura
1 Veronica Kilabat
2 Veronica Oluoch
3 Violet Makuto
5 Sharon Chepchumba
6 Belinda Barasa
7 Emmaculate Nekesa
10 Noel Murambi
12 Gladys Ekaru
13 Yvonne Wavinya
14 Mercy Moim
15 Lorine Chebet
16 Agripina Kundu
19 Edith Mukuvilani
20 Sande Meldinah Nemali
Results
Olympic Games
1964 to 1996 — did not participate
2000 — 11th place
2004 — 11th place
2008 — did not qualify
2012 — did not qualify
2016 — did not qualify
2020 — 12th place
World Championship
1994 — 13th place
1998 — 13th place
2002 — 21st place
2006 — 21st place
2010 — 21st place
2014 — did not qualify
2018 — 20th place
2022 — 19th place
2025 — Qualified
World Cup
2019 — 11th place
FIVB World Grand Prix
FIVB Challenger Cup
2023 — 6th place
2024 — Qualified
Women's African Volleyball Championship
1991 —
1993 —
1995 —
1997 —
2003 —
2005 —
2007 —
2011 —
2013 —
2015 —
2017 —
2019 —
2021 —
2023 —
All-Africa Games
2021 Beach volleyball Olympic team
Kenya also has a women's national beach volleyball team. The team that gained Kenya qualification for the postponed 2020 Summer Olympics was Yvonne Wavinya, Brackcides Agala, Phosca Kasisi and Gaudencia Makokha. They qualified when they won at the African Continental Cup Finals in Morocco in 2021. They gained victory in a final against the Nigeria women's national volleyball team. Wavinga and Kasisi beat Tochukwu Nnoruga and Albertina Francis 2-0 while Agala and Makokha beat the other Nigerian pair of Francisca Ikhiede and Amara Uchechukwu 2–1.
Kenya's beach volleyballers were in the four Continental Cup winners with Argentina, Cuba and China. Kenya has never had a beach volleyball team at the Olympics and they are only the fourth African country to send a team.
The four players who qualified will make up Kenya's Olympic beach volleyball team chosen by the coach Sammy Mulinge. They will compete initially with the teams from Brazil, the US and Latvia in pool D at the postponed 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The volleyballers stayed in Mombasa for training before flying to Tokyo. They were the African champions, but the pandemic meant that many of their future opponents had been able to play more matches.
2021 Sitting Volleyball Paralympic team
Kenya's sitting volleyball team failed to qualify in the round robin contests in Kigali in September 2019. Rwanda won the place putting Egypt into second place in the final.
Previous squads
1991 World Cup squad
Doris Wefwafwa
Nancy Lijodi
Anne Wekhomba
Lena Serem
Pamela Mukima
Jane Njeri-Onyango
Nancy Sikobe
Lucy Kamweru
Beatrice Kwoba
Dorcas Murunga
Catherine Mabwi
Mary Ayuma
1994 World Championship squad
Rhoda Vwosi
Nancy Sikobe
Helen Elele
Esther Chepkosgei
Esther Barno
Esther Ouna
Doris Wefwafwa
Mary Ayuma
Jacqueline Makokha
Nancy Lijodi
Phyllis Anyango
Anne Wekhomba
1998 World Championship squad
Margaret Indakala
Catherine Mabwi
Edna Chepngeno
Doris Wefwafwa
Helen Elele
Dorcas Ndasaba
Roselidah Obunaga
Jacqueline Makokha
Esther Barno
Mary Ayuma
Nancy Lusanji
Judith Serenge
2000 Summer Olympic squad
Dorcas Ndasaba
Doris Wefwafwa
Edna Chepngeno
Emily Wesutila
Gladys Nasikanda
Jacqueline Makokha
Judith Serenge
Margaret Indakala
Mary Ayuma
Nancy Lusanji
Roselidah Obunaga
Violet Barasa
2002 World Championship squad
Philister Sang
Margaret Mukoya
Rodah Lyali
Abigael Tarus
Catherine Wanjiru
Lucy Chege
Dorcas Ndasaba
Salome Wanjala
Leonidas Kamende
Violet Barasa
Nancy Lusanji
Mercy Wesutila
2004 Summer Olympic squad
Philister Sang
Abigael Tarus
Nancy Nyongesa
Catherine Wanjiru
Janet Wanja
Dorcas Ndasaba
Roselidah Obunaga
Leonidas Kamende
Violet Barasa
Gladys Nasikanda
Mercy Wesutila
Judith Serenge
2006 World Championship squad
Jane Wacu
Doris Palanga
Lucy Chege
Catherine Wanjiru
Janet Wanja
Mildred Odwako
Dorcas Ndasaba
Jackline Barasa
Lydia Maiyo
Leonidas Kamende
Brackcides Khadambi
Judith Tarus
2007 World Cup squad
Jane Wacu
Diana Khisa
Doris Palanga
Catherine Wanjiru
Janet Wanja
Dorcas Ndasaba
Jackline Barasa
Lydia Maiyo
Mercy Moim
Brackcides Khadambi
Judith Tarus
Edinah Rotich
2011 World Cup squad
Everlyne Makuto
Esther Wangeci
Diana Khisa
Ruth Jepngetich
Janet Wanja
Roseline Odhiambo
Noel Murambi
Lydia Maiyo
Mercy Moim
Brackcides Khadambi
Judith Tarus
Florence Bosire
2015 World Cup squad
Jane Wacu
Everlyne Makuto
Esther Wangeci
Janet Wanja
Triza Atuka
Elizabeth Wanyama
Noel Murambi
Lydia Maiyo
Mercy Moim
Brackcides Khadambi
Ruth Jepngetich
Monica Biama
2018 World Championship squad
Jane Wacu
Christine Psiwa
Violet Makuto
Leonida Kasaya
Sharon Chepchumba
Janet Wanja
Triza Atuka
Elizabeth Wanyama
Noel Murambi
Mercy Moim (capt)
Lorine Chebet
Agripina Kundu
Emmaculate Chemtai
Edith Mukuvilani
2020 Summer Olympic squad
Jane Wacu
Leonida Kasaya
Sharon Chepchumba
Joy Lusenaka
Noel Murambi
Gladys Ekaru
Lorine Chebet
Mercy Moim
Pamela Jepkirui
Agripina Kundu
Emmaculate Chemtai
Edith Mukuvilani
References
External links
CAVB Site
Volleyball in Kenya
Volleyball
National women's volleyball teams