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Champagne on ice for Sport-S
KAVC (in red) must play their best game to avoid being swept. PHOTO/JOHN BATANUDDE
What you need to know:
The defending champions dominated proceedings enroute to a 3-0 win seven days ago and will be looking to close the series and start the celebrations of defending their crown.
Sport-S can lift the National Volleyball League title by defeating KAVC in Game Two of the three-game finals series on Sunday at the Old Kampala Arena.
The defending champions dominated proceedings enroute to a 3-0 win seven days ago and will be looking to close the series and start the celebrations of defending their crown.
“They have their backs against the wall but it is the second game so, for us we’ll just come to fight. We know that KAVC is a good team, you give them a chance, they kill you,” Sport-S head coach Benon Mugisha told Sunday Monitor ahead of the game.
To the team that prevailed in Game One, Mugisha hopes to add the services of Daniel Gum Malil Yuol, whose net defense has impressed since joining the club.
The South Sudanese missed Game One with an injury but is expected to return today as Sport-S look to avoid taking the series to a decider.
“He adds more defensive options to the team,” Mugisha revealed.
Sport-S suffocated KAVC’s offense in the first meeting, with Godfrey Onapa the only one finding gaps to score.
The rest of the KAVC team struggled to evade the high blocks of middle blockers Samuel Engwau and Emmanuel Okia.
And KAVC head coach Memory Dube knows that the only way to force a Game Three is by finding attackers to complement Onapa.
Sport S Benon Mugisha wants his team to give it one big shot. PHOTO/COURTESY
“We need to have another person complementing Onapa on the attack and then minimize our errors,” Dube said ahead of the do-or-die clash.
More trouble
In the women’s semifinals, KCCA and Sport-S must win their clashes with KCB-Nkumba and Ndejje Elites, respectively to stay alive.
KCCA squandered a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 in Game One but have a chance to punch back in today morning’s Game Two.
Shilla Omuriwe’s charges, led by Joan Tushemereirwe, got off to a flying start last weekend but dismally collapsed to hand Nkumba the advantage.
Hadijah Otin and Habiba Namala led the charge for Tony Lakony’s side, who will now be looking to close the series and return to the finals for the first time since 2019.
Sport-S, meanwhile, competed and even levelled matters in the second set before fading in the third and fourth.
Ndejje will still be favourites going into Game Two but Malic Damulira’s charges have already showed flashes of quality to leave the university side with some work to do.
Players like Aisha Kebirungi, Renata Kamahoro, Comfort Twesiime, Agnes Akanyo and setter Doreen Akiteng have the quality to make the series a contest.
But it is the experience on the Ndejje team that often comes to the fore, with the likes of Belindah Jepkirui, Peace Busingye, Moreen Mwamula and setter Jesca Kaidu all used to pressure games like these.
National Volleyball League
Sunday fixtures - Old Kampala Arena
Semifinals (Women)
KCB-Nkumba vs. KCCA, 11am (KCB-Nkumba lead 1-0)
Sport-S vs. Ndejje, 2pm (Ndejje lead 1-0)
Finals (Men)
KAVC vs. Sport-S, 4pm (Sport-S lead 1-0)
