NAIROBI, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Kenya volleyball officials are hopeful that one of their men's clubs will win the Africa Club Championships, which will be held in Cairo, Egypt next week.
General Service Unit and Kenya Prisons will be the country's representatives for the men's tournament, which starts in Cairo on March 23.
Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) President Waithaka Kioni said Friday the women's clubs must return to the drawing board after they were eliminated in the semifinals in Cairo.
However, eyes will be on the men's teams, which will be in Egypt to try and win the title.
"We now focus on the men's tournament. Hopefully they will weather the storm and make history by winning the tournament for the first time. Kenya had high hopes with the women's team, but competition was high and they lost," he said.
Egyptian side Al Ahly are the men's defending champions as they claimed last year's title after beating Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia in the finals.
In the women's tournament, which ended on Thursday, Al-Ahly beat Carthage of Tunisia 3-0 (25-9, 29-27, 25-8) to win the title. It is Al-Ahly's ninth title in the history of the Africa Club Championship.
Kenya Pipeline edged out Kenya Prisons for the bronze medal 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 25-22, 27-29, 15-11). Rwanda Revenue Authority was ranked fifth after beating Bafia from Cameroon.
The Al-Ahly women's team will now represent Africa at the FIVB World Club Championships, which to be held in Zhejiang, China in September.
