Police Volleyball Club and Kenya Pipeline crowned CAVB Zone V Clubs Champions

Police Volleyball Club (VC) and Kenya Pipeline have been crowned the Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB) Zone V Clubs Champions, in the men’s and women’s competitions respectively.

Kenya Pipeline beat Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-18) in the women’s final on Sunday, while Police VC rallied from a set down to defeat Sport-S of Uganda 3-1 (20-25, 25-14, 25-21, 25-17) in the men’s tournament.

Rwandan Patriotic Army (APR) won bronze in both tournaments. APR beat Police VC 3-1 (26-24, 25-21, 25-21, 25-21) in the women’s third-place playoff, while their men’s team edged out Kepler 3-2 (25-21, 25-18, 28-30, 23-25, 15-12) to claim bronze.

The men’s competition had six teams placed in two pools of three teams each, with the top two teams qualifying for the semi-finals.

Sport-S topped Pool B with five points to face Kepler in the semi-finals, while APR won Pool A with a similar tally to set a date with Police VC in the final four.

The Ugandan team Sport-S edged out Kepler 3-2 while home side Police VC eliminated APR 3-0 to set up the final.

Police VC players and officials celebrate with the trophy after winning the CAVB Zone Five Clubs Championship 2023 held in Kigali, Rwanda. (Photo credits: FRVB)

The women’s tournament consisted of five teams; namely hosts teams APR and RRA, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCCA) of Uganda, Police VC and Kenya Pipeline. The competition was played in a round robin format, with the top two teams meeting in the final.

Kenya Pipeline topped the preliminary round with 12 points while RRA were second with 9 points. The Kenyan side finished the tournament unbeaten following another 3-0 win over RRA in the final, who they had beaten with a similar margin in the preliminaries.

Police VC finished third in the first round with six points while APR settled for fourth with three points, to qualify for the third-place playoff. However, APR who had lost to Police VC 3-0 in the preliminaries came back to secure a 3-1 victory against Police VC to claim bronze.

The women’s Dream Team at the CAVB Zone Five Clubs Championship 2023 held in Kigali, Rwanda. (Photo credits: FRVB)

In the women’s tournament, Flavia Dusabe of APR was named best server while the RRA duo of Francoise Yankurije and Iris Ndagijimana emerged as best receiver and best setter respectively. Kenya Pipeline produced four players in the Dream Team with Trizah Atuka being named best blocker, Agripina Kundu best libero, Pamela Adhiambo best attacker and Rose Magoi the Most Valuable Player (MVP).

CAVB Zone Five President Fernand Ruterana said he was impressed by the level of competition in the second edition of the regional tournament.

“My impression is positive about the event. The level was very good…we hope next time it will be even better,” said Ruterana.

The men’s Dream Team at the CAVB Zone Five Clubs Championship 2023 held in Kigali, Rwanda. (Photo credits: FRVB)

Police VC dominated the men’s Dream Team, with Crispin Ntanteteri emerging best setter and MVP, Olivier Ntagengwa the best receiver, Elphas Makuto best server and Frank Shyaka best blocker. Nicholas Agapoa of Sport-S emerged as the best libero, while Magoung Mangom of Kepler was named the best attacker.