Paramilitary side out to make it four straight KVF league crowns
Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) men’s Premier League champions General Service Unit (GSU) throw off their title defence campaign against Kenya Army and Vihiga County as the 2020 season commences in Nyeri tomorrow.
The paramilitary side won their third consecutive title last season and are ready to keep the good run going while chasing continental honours as well.
GSU begin their season without the services of star player Abiud Chirchir who was released for a professional stint with Club Olympique de Kélibia in Tunisia early this month.
However, to try and fill the void left by Chirchir, who was last season’s Most Valuable Player (MVP), coach Gideon Tarus has signed Kelvin Omuse from Equity Bank.
Omuse joins the holders after spending the last season with the bankers. In 2018, he played for Kenya Defence Forces’ side Ulinzi.
He was also part of the national team squad that did duty during last year’s Zone Five qualifiers to the African Games. The right-attacker was impressive as Kenya picked a set against eventual winners Egypt.
“Chirchir is an outstanding player and a pivotal one to GSU. However, his absence will not spell doom for us. It instead gives other players in my squad a chance to step up and that is what we expect from Omuse,” said Tarus.
He added: “He (Omuse) is a good player but will have to fight for the position against other players who stepped up when Chirchir was sidelined last season due to injury.”
Despite being pitted against lowly-ranked opponents, at least on paper, in their league opener, the tactician has warned his team against complacency.
Meanwhile, Equity are looking to better last season’s performance and break into the top four which has eluded them in the recent past.
Despite losing Omuse and Philip Njoroge to GSU and Ulinzi respectively, veteran coach Sammy Kirongo believes his players have gained the much-needed experience they need to achieve their targets.
“I took over the team last year in their third season in the top flight and our biggest undoing was lack of experience.
That coupled with a weak left attack saw us struggle but we have recruited well in that position.
The players have also gained a considerable amount of experience and I am confident of a better run this season. We have signed four players, a setter and three left attackers,” said Kirongo.
Equity throw off their season against Prisons Kenya and Prisons Western.
