Malkia Strikers won opener of FIVB World Championship. Photo/COURTESY
LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Sep 29 – The national women’s volleyball team Malkia Strikers launched their FIVB World Championship in Japan on a winning note after stunning Kazakhstan in Pool D on Saturday.
Scoring as many as 28 points, Mercy Moim led her team-mates to a compelling success on the opening day in Hamamatsu.
In other results, Cameroon managed a come-from-behind Pool A victory over Mexico in four sets to register the first ever win for an African team in the history of the women’s World Championships.
This was the opening match on the 18th edition’s program and the sensational result set the tone for an exciting event. Blocking was Cameroon’s strong weapon against the North American opponents, with two players, Theorine Christelle Aboa Mbeza and Stephanie Fotso Mogoung, each scoring five of the team’s 13 stuffs on the way to success.
So more than 40 winless years after the African continent made its debut at the women’s World Championship, when Tunisia played in the 1978 edition, two CAVB representatives triumphed with maiden victories on the very same day.
Pretty much everywhere else in Japan, the favourites did not allow any surprises. In the only five-setter of the first competition day, Thailand came out on top against Korea.
