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Moim’s European club excels, heartbreak for other Kenyans abroad


National women volleyball team captain, Mercy Moim, is back in the country after a successful stint in Finland’s top flight league.

And while Moim’s team excelled, it wasn’t as good for her national team colleagues, Brackides Agala, Jane Wacu, Everlyne Makuto and Esther Wangeci, whose club, Chamalieres, was relegated from the French top flight league at the weekend.

Chamalieres finished at position 11 out of 12 teams in the competition while in Finland, Moim, 25, was instrumental in Orpo’s third place finish in the Mestaruusliga on Tuesday night.

The Kenya Prisons captain featured prominently during her team’s thrashing of Kangasala W in the third and fourth play-off matches.

Orpo won 2-1, in the best of three series matches, winning the opening match 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 27-25), losing the second match 0-3 (19-24, 24-26, 17-25) before recovering to win the final match by a straight sets of 26-24, 25-22 and 25-19.

National women volleyball team player, Jane Wacu, makes a serve during a past international match in Nairobi. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO
National women volleyball team player, Jane Wacu, makes a serve during a past international match in Nairobi. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO

HIGH STANDARDS

“This league is much more competitive in comparison to our competition here in Kenya. In Finland we have three matches each week as compared to here where we only play once every week.  The training facilities and living conditions are also far better,” Moim told Nairobi News upon arrival in Nairobi on Thursday morning.

Makuto, on her part, lamented her team’s relegation in the French league.

“It is heartbreaking to suffer relegation on the last day of the season, but its a learning curve for us. The standards of competition here are much higher and if offered another chance to return, I will make the most of it,” Makuto said.

The French based foursome have already linked up with the national team at the Safaricom indoor Arena where Malaika Strikers are preparing for both the Olympic Games qualifiers and Group 2 World Grand Prix Games set for Puerto Rico and Argentina respectively, next month.