Lausanne, Switzerland, January 6, 2020 - Kenya and Cameroon both extended their records Monday evening in Yaounde and are set for a head-on collision on Tuesday that could well be decisive for the single ticket to the women's volleyball tournament of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games available through the African qualifiers.
Kenya shut out Botswana and Cameroon defeated Nigeria, leaving both the only undefeated sides in the five-team round robin pool. That could all change on Tuesday when the two go head-to-head at 20.00 local time (18.00 GMT).
Pool hosts Cameroon outplayed Nigeria 3-0 (25-12, 25-10, 25-8) Monday night, inspired by Stephanie Fotso, who played in only the first two sets, and Ruth Bibinbe, who came on off the bench during the second, as they shared the match-high scoring with 9 points each.
By the start of the third set, Cameroon coach Jean-Rene Akono had retired all of his original starters except middle blocker Ezssi Emelda in anticipation of Tuesday's showdown with Kenya.
Nonetheless, it was the second time in as many days that Cameroon had limited the opposition to single-digit scoring (after a 25-4 second set against Botswana on the previous evening).
Sharon Chepchumba gets ready to strike and Kenya teammate Jemimah Siangu comes in to cover against the Botswana block of Tebogo Sejewe and Wame Peleta in Monday action at the African qualifiers for a ticket to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Previously on Monday evening, Kenya had doubled their wins with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-19, 25-18) sweep of Botswana which left the latter winless after two games.
The 'Malkia Strikers' were powered by Mercy Moim's 14 points and Sharon Chepchumba's 12, but also took advantage of as many as 28 unforced errors from Botswana.
The other four continental qualifiers begin as of Tuesday:
● Africa: 5-9 January in Yaounde
● Asia: 7-12 January in Nakhon Ratchasima
● Europe: 7-12 January in Apeldoorn
● North & Central America and Caribbean: 10-12 January in Santo Domingo
● South America: 7-9 January in Bogota
Serbia, China, USA, Brazil, Russia and Italy have already qualified since last August through an intercontinental process. Japan had secured their spot by default as hosts of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Quick links - Volleyball:
FIVB Continental Tokyo Volleyball Qualification
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