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National women’s volleyball team Malkia Strikers began their quest to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics on a positive note following a 3-1 victory over Egypt in Yaounde, Cameroon yesterday.

Kenya went into the match knowing only a win will set them on the right path given the five-day Olympics qualifiers are being played in a round robin format.

It was not a walk in the park for Kenya however, as they had to come from behind to claim the win.

In what was a close contest, Egypt took the first set 25-23 after exchanging leads with the East Africans for most of it before they edged it at the death.

Paul Bitok’s charges, however, upped the ante in the subsequent set and made no mistakes, taking a 10-point win as they won it 25-15 after some good displays on the court.

The match then went into the third set when the North Africans made Kenya sweat for their win. After exchanging the lead early in the set, Malkia Strikers eventually prevailed, winning 25-21 to take the game into the decisive fourth set.

It is here where Bitok’s charges had to summon all their energy and focus to avoid taking the game into a fifth set.

Malkia Strikers went toe-to-toe with their Egyptian opponents who run them close but eventually prevailed 25-22 to win the match and keep them firmly on the road to Tokyo.

There will be no time to celebrate for Kenya, however, as they will have to be ready for their second match today, a meeting with Botswana.

With hosts and African champions Cameroon as well as Nigeria also competing, Kenya, who won the African Games gold last year, will have to be at their absolute best to claim an Olympics ticket as only one country from the participating five will qualify.

Kenya’s last Olympics appearance was in 2004 in Athens, Greece where they did not go past the first round.