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2008
Women’s junior African Nations Championship
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Final
Egypt wins the
second title in a raw
 Nairobi, Kenya, September 13, 2008- Egypt continued
their superior performance and won their last match
against Seychelles to achieve their second title in
a raw in the 2008 Women’s Junior African Nations
championship. Egypt finished the competition in a
clean sheet of win loss ratio of 4-0 in the 5
nations round robin competition held at Moi
International Sports Centre of Kasarani in the
Kenyan capital of Nairobi on Friday. The defending
champions Egypt kept the crown home after they won
the 2006 edition in their homelands.
The fifth and final day of the competition showed
also Tunisia beating Kenya for the second position
and the organizers lost the chance to qualify to the
World championship as Tunis finished second to
secure the second position of the competition
leaving Kenya for bronze.
Egypt vs. Seychelles 3-1
Egypt survived a scary first set before settling
down to claim a 3-1 win (23-25, 25-17, 25-15, 25-15)
over inspired Seychelles to win the competition. The
win means that Egypt take the sole automatic ticket
to represent the continent in the World Championship
that will be held in Mexico City in July. Egypt
still nursing a night partying hangover were rattled
by the Seychelles side as they run to a 8-4 lead
before the Egyptians clawed back to salvage a tie at
11-11.The two sides then looked level on skills as
they tied 13-13, 15-15 with Yehia Tasmin, Hussein
Yasmin and setter Menatalla Mena towering and making
Seychelles do the chasing. But Seychelles captain
Marielle Bonne proved to be a thorn in Egypt flesh
as she landed several points to see the two sides
tie at 23-23. Seychelles then used strong service of
Valarie Toussaint to make two quick scores to take
the set 25-23. A talk by Hesham Badrawy inspired
Egypt as they resumed the second set a stronger side
and piled pressure on the Seychelles inexperienced
side to claim 8-4 lead at the first technical time
out. But errors in Seychelles court enabled Egypt to
open up a comfortable lead and were going to the
second breather with their scores at 16-10. Efforts
by Seychelles coach to salvage something was only a
temporary gap as his side lacked the tactical skills
to lock out the Egyptians who took the set 25-17.
Yasmin and Nassef Nada were instrumental in the
third set making clear their intentions as they took
a 8-2 lead. Lack of blocks from the Seychelles side
propelled Egypt to a 14-5 to force J.M Roche to call
for time out. Return of Bonne over the net restored
some dignity in Seychelles but they could not stop
Egypt from claiming a 16-6 lead at the breather.But
Seychelles were better on resumption and restricted
Egypt to gain only two points out of their mistakes
as they closed them down to 12-19. Egypt held on to
win 25-15.In the fourth set, Egypt was stronger
mentally and though their strong spikes sailed
through to take a 25-15.
Tunisia vs. Kenya 3-1
Kenya’s hopes and chances of making it to next
year’s World Junior Volleyball Championships in
Mexico City hit a dead end after they crushed 3-1
(25-13, 22-25, 25-14, 25-22) to Tunisia at the end
of Africa Nations Championships
“We did it,” was all the Tunisian coach, Chebbi
Rached could say after the match.
Although Kenya’s Everlyne Makuto pounded a couple of
early winners through the Tunisian block on the
left, the hosts couldn’t contain the marauding
Tunisians who snatched a 6-1 lead to prompt a time
out from the Kenyan bench. Things weren’t surely
going the Kenyans way as they reached the first
technical time out trailing at 3-8.
The outstanding Agrebi Rahma, a great prospect for
the side, steadied the Tunisian ship with some
crunching blocks of her own, but she was then
rejected by a pumped up Makuto when they went head
to head down the middle.
The attacking trio of Makuto, Ndiema Chemutai and
Brendah Kamamos was too blunt, Cherif Nouha was
showing the hosts how things are done with electric
strikes, and magnificent blocks that could only
leave the Kenyans imagining what had hit them.
Trailing 4-11, Kenya took their second time out, but
they still could not work out how to stop the flow
of attacks from the surging Tunisian team. The North
Africans stood 16-5 at the second technical time
out. As the Kenyans stretched for their shots,
attack errors followed and their opponents wrapped
up the opening frame 25-13.
On resumption for the second set, Kenya had one
resolution, taking an early lead. And truly they
did. The Tunisian team was on the receiving end as
they trailed 4-2 within the first minutes of the
set. This didn’t go down well with coach, Chebbi
Rached who called for a timeout. It made little
difference as they scored only five points while
conceding four, to stand at 8-7 at the first
technical timeout.
Makuto was inspiring in ensuring the Kenyan lead,
but a sequence of blunders at Kenyan centre helped
the visitors reduce the difference to 11-10. Despite
the scare, Kenyans managed to hold to a 16-12
advantage at the second technical time out. Rose
Magoi was superb in her setting and Kamamos didn’t
disappoint as she showered the Tunisians with
thunderbolt strikes. Suddenly, Kenyans had got back
their rhythm as they made it one-set all, with a
25-22 win.
In the third set, Tunisia cranked up the power with
some sharply angled spikes into the feet of the
Kenyan defenders, that forced the Kenyan technical
bench to call for a time out trailing 5-1.
Instead of utilising the chance to correct their
mistakes, on the contrary, it was Tunisia who
capitalised on Kenya’s lapses to take a 8-1 lead at
the first technical timeout. The hard-hitting Makuto
reduced the gap with a towering winner from the
left, but was then blocked by the spring-heeled
Rahma on the opposite flank.
Again, attack errors under no pressure cost Kenya
points as they seemed to run out of steam allowing
the agile Tunisians to a 16-8 second technical time
out lead.
With the urgency of having the match done with,
Tunisia introduced hard-hitting Sassi Nadia for Ben
Youssef Sonia, who never faltered as she helped her
side to a 25-14.
Kenya looked in a hurry to claim the set and strung
together a series of quick points as their
opponent’s fire flickered on and off, taking a 8-5
lead by the first technical time out. They
maintained the lead at the second technical time
out, 16-12. But all the laughs went the Tunisian way
as they won the set and consequently the match,
25-22.
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