Part of the action as Kenya Pipeline played Cameroon’s Bafia in the Quarter finals of the African Women Volleyball Club Championship in Cairo, Egypt on March 12, 2018. PHOTO/CAVB
NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 12- Seven-time African Women Volleyball Club Champions Kenya Pipeline survived a huge scare from Cameroonian side Bafia to qualify for the semi-finals after coming off the right end of a 3-2 result in a quarter final tie in Cairo, Egypt on Monday.
Pipeline let down the gauntlet after a good start but were lucky enough to right their wrongs in the tie breaker winning 15-6.
Japhenth Munala’s charges won the opening set with a decent 25-12 margin but somehow managed to reduce the tempo in the second, losing 25-23. They bounced back in the third set with a 25-14 score but once again stepped off the pedals losing by another identical 25-23 score.
Pipeline showed their supremacy stamping their feet on the ground after easily picking a 25-12 win in the opening set. However, when it seemed they were on their way to a staright sets cruise, they fizzled out in the second set losing 25-23.
They were however back on their feet in the third set where they won 25-14. Bafia led 8-6 after the first technical time out and momentarily went 10-6 up upon resumption.
However, a time out called by coach Japheth Munala saw the girls bounce back in good fashion, squeezing a 16-12 score at the second technical time out.
They continued their resurgence after the resumption of play, improving much on their reception and blocks before running away 25-14, skipper Triza Atuka finishing up the set with a ferocious strike down the Bafia blocking line.
But, they didn’t seem to have learnt as Bafia pushed the game to the tie breaker winning the third set with an identical 25-23 score. Prisons led at both the first (8-6) and second (16-15) technical time outs but at the business end let off their guard.
Like a script, they woke up when it mattered most, reducing their mistakes and hitting the Cameroonians hard to pick out a comfortable 15-6 win.
Pipeline will face the winner between record champions Al Ahly and Nigeria’s Customs who play later Monday.
