Ndejje Elites, KCB Nkumba close in on finals

Ndejje Elites and KCB-Nkumba edged closer to the National Volleyball League finals by drawing first blood in their semifinal series against Sport-S and KCCA respectively Sunday at the Old Kampala Arena.

The Elite, still unbeaten this season, were far from their best but got the job done.

Head coach Tadeo Winyi significant changes to the Ndejje line up, starting Pearl Akankunda and  Dorothy Natuhwera in place of Peace Busingye and Faith Magole, respectively.

And despite a shake first pass in the opening set, the Elites outlasted Sport-S 26-24 to take the early lead.

On the other side of the net, head coach Malic Damulira replaced Renata Kamahoro with Aisha Kebirungi, and the latter combined with Comfort Twesiime to cause Ndejje problems. 

The Nsambya outfit too the set 25-22 to level matters and send their fans into wild celebrations. 

Winyi was then forced to call on his veterans to steady the ship. Busingye, Magole and setter Jesca Kaidu came into the fray and helped the Elites over the finish line.

The university side took the third set 25-16 and the fourth 25-10 to close the game and draw first blood in the three-game series.

“Generally, we didn’t take our training script to the game. The game was characterized by a lot of simple un forced errors,” Winyi revealed at the end of the game.

He added: “Thanks to the mature players who exhibited quality and calmness.”

Sport-S will now have to win Game Two to have any chance of returning to the finals. 

In the other semifinal, KCB-Nkumba came from two sets down to defeat KCCA 3-2 and take Game One.

The defending champions started on the front foot, taking the first two sets 25-22 and 25-19 to leave Nkumba a mountain to climb.

Tony Lakony’s charges, however, regrouped and relied on Hadijjah Otin and Habiba Namala to take the next two sets 25-17 and 25-22 and force a decisive.

With momentum on their side, Nkumba went on take the decisive set 15-11 to win the match and put one foot in the final.

“First blood is always important in a series like this but we still have work to do,” Lakony told Daily Monitor.

The two semis will head into Game Two on Sunday, with both Ndejje and Nkumba looking to close the series, while KCCA and Sport-S must win to stay alive. 

National Volleyball League 

Men’s Finals

Game One

Sport-S 3-0 KAVC (25-17, 26-24, 27-25) 

Women semifinals 

Game One 

Ndejje 3-1 Sport-S (26-24, 22-25, 25-15, 25-10) 

KCCA 2-3 KCB-Nkumba (25-22, 25-19, 17-25, 22-25, 11-15)