Kenya Pipeline are targeting a final place in the African Club Championship later this year following their triumph in the Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) women's league.
Coach Paul Gitau said their mission is to extend their dominance across borders. "We are not going to settle for anything less than the finals at the club championship.
"Our first target was winning the league and I am happy it has been achieved. I promised the management three years ago that I'll put the team on the map and I am happy with our achievements so far.
"Now is the time to reclaim our glory internationally," an elated Gitau presumed. He was speaking during breakfast hosted by the Kenya Pipeline Company Board in honour of the team.
The team was awarded Sh1.2 million by the company. In addition, board chair Faith Bett donated Sh140, 000 while the PS in the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, Dr. Mohammed Liban gave Sh20,000.
"When I joined the team in 2020, Covid-19 struck even before I settled and we did nothing. However, we remained focused and stuck to our mission and I believe we are very much on course. We resumed training on Monday and the players are keen to make history," Gitau added.
Pipeline ended the season unbeaten to win the title after 5 years. The team, a mixture of youth and experience, were peerless in the four-team playoffs; even coming from a set down to win the decider 3-1 against KCB.
Team manager Hellen Gichuru said their achievement is invaluable after the mass exodus of players that forced the team to begin on a clean slate.
"We lost seven experienced members of the playing unit and the head coach to a rival team. This journey started with a bronze medal in Tunisia last year and I believe this was the beginning of better things to come."
KPC managing director, Joe Sang, pledged maximum support for the team. He added that there's a need to build the raw talent from schools to ease the transition to the club and national team levels.
"We need to give players from school a platform to build their careers. The players are great ambassadors of our company."
Currently, Pipeline have three players plying trade abroad. They include; Veronica Adhiambo (Turkey), Noel Murambi (Cyprus) and United Arab Emirates-based Violet Makuto.
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