National Volleyball League action will be put aside this weekend as clubs struggle to earn tickets to next year’s Africa Volleyball Clubs Championship.
Teams will make the long trip to Lira with their sights on the two tickets (one for each gender) available.
Defending champions UCU Doves are fresh from a 3-1 defeat by Sport-S in the final of this year’s Nkumba Open and head coach Nason Bwesigye believes the loss pointed to a few areas his team will have to improve to defend the cup.
“The tournament gave us a good picture of where we stand. Our reception suffered and will have to improve.” Bwesigye said ahead of the tournament.
With several faces missing on the UCU team due to injuries, head coach Nason Bwesigye and his charges were not able to defend the title.
Suspended Mark Okurut and injured Elias Isiagi were both unavailable for Nkumba open and their absence was felt as the university side failed to receive throughout the final.
With Sport-S continuing with their outdoor form in the open tournaments, UCU will need to greatly improve to put up a challenge.
Captain Dickens Otim believes the victory at Nkumba puts his side in pole position ahead of the more important tournament.
“We used Nkumba open to see where we are as a team and we are in a good place,” the middle blocker revealed.
“We have worked on perfecting what we did well and are ready for the clubs championships," Otim added.
League defending champions Nemostars will also be in the mix and the dismal display at the Nkumba Open is something they have put behind already.
Andrew Okapis’ charges failed to make it out of the group at Nkumba and have to play much better to stand a chance in Lira.
The several players who were missing last weekend have already committed to the tournament and Okapis expects a much better show.
In the ladies’ category, KCB Nkumba will still be favourites going into the championship. Even in the absence of head coach Tonny Lakony, his assistant Godwin Ssenyondo has done a good job maintaining the
team’s winning mentality.
After labouring to a scrappy 3-2 win over UCU Lady Doves in the final of the Nkumba Open, the defending champions exhibited their ability to get results when not at their best.
UCU, Ndejje University, KCCA and Vision Volleyball Camp will pose the challenge and Nkumba may need to be much better than they were last weekend.
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