Brave Soweto vow to soldier on despite missing key players

Soweto Academy's Esther Wanjiru (11) and Daisy Jipcho (10) play against Brown Hill's Linda Razoa (left) and Doreen Menya during Nairobi Region Secondary schools' Volleyball Girls final match of term two games at Jamhuri High School. [File, Standard]

Nairobi girls volleyball powerhouse Soweto Academy have vowed to fight relentlessly at the upcoming East Africa school games.

The city girls, who have been regulars at the championship since making their debut in 2016, qualified for the regional games after finishing fourth at the just concluded National Term Two games.

Soweto coach Wycliffe Wafula said they are determined to perform better even though they struggled at the nationals due to injuries that affected their key players.

They lost to Bishop Sulumeti 3-2 (21-25, 25-17,19-25, 25-15, 15-13) in the third-place play-offs duel.  

“We struggled at the nationals, but I’m glad we qualified for the East Africa games because it was not easy playing without our top players. The girls are excited to have made it and they are working hard to fill the gaps left by the three who have been ruled out of the competition,” Wafula said.

Soweto missed the services of opposite hitter Flavin Maero, Linero Joyce Vaati and middle blocker Idah Amela.

“Maero is the heart of the team and not having her negatively impacted on the other players on and off pitch,” Wafula added.

Soweto will be looking to improve on last year’s sixth-place finish which was their lowest performance since 2016.