Former national volleyball champions Lugulu Girls and national champions Cheptil were knocked out of the Lawi Mamai volleyball tournament at Malaba Township Primary School grounds.
Lugulu, the 22-times national champions were beaten 3-0 by Kabuyefwe in their last preliminary match to exit the first edition of the tournament sponsored by Teso North parliamentary aspirant Lawi Mamai.
Cheptil from Nandi County were beaten 3-0 (25-21, 26-24, 25-12) by Friends School Mang’ana from Webuye in the semifinals to lock the national champions out of the tournament.
Mang’ana, the surprise team of the tournament reached their first regional finals in 2015. Coach Hesborn Choge said the sky is the limit.
Lugulu needed to win the match to progress to the last four. They had beaten Weaverbird 3-0 in the opening match before losing to Sangalo Institute by a similar margin in the second match.
It was sweet revenge for Kabuyefwe who were beaten 3-1 by Lugulu in the semifinals of the Nzoia Region Games in Lodwar last year. The Sikhendu-based team from Trans Nzoia is coached by former KVF chairman John Wambaya.
Kabuyefwe continued with their fairytale run when they beat Mukumu 3-1 in the semifinals to secure a final berth against Cheptil who beat Sangalo Institute 3-0 in the other semis. It was sweet revenge for Kabuyefwe who lost to Mukumu by a similar margin in the Regional finals in Lodwar.
Kabuyefwe qualified for semis with an unbeaten record. They beat Sangalo Institute, Weaverbird and Lugulu in straight sets.
In the boys’ category, Nzoia Region losing finalists Butula Boys from Busia County upset national champions Cheptil 3-2. However, Cheptil secured semifinal berth after beating Elgon Foundation 3-1 and Busia County Volleyball Centre 3-0.
Butula qualified to meet Mang’ana in the finals after beating Sangalo Institute 3-1 in the other semis. They had beaten BCVC 3-0 in their last preliminary match.