Tokyo, Japan – The Malkia Strikers national women’s volleyball team got their Olympic campaign off to a poor start, losing to hosts Japan on Sunday at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo.
JAPAN : TEAM REVIEW
They say there’s nothing worse than losing a third-place match. Japan had an average performance in their last two games and went from winning 12 of 15 matches to finishing 3rd place at the tournament. Surprisingly, they were brought back down by Turkey who won against them for the bronze medal 0-3.
KENYA: TEAM OVERVIEW
The Malkia Strikers national women’s volleyball team has dominated at the African level. The Kenyan side won all four of their matches in select qualification, and had an unbeaten record at 2019’s World Cup – winning one match out of three.
What were the predictions
The Japanese team is clearly the favourite considering they are hosting their own tournament. We wouldn’t want to give them 48 points in three games or we’ll quickly be at a disadvantage.
Kenyan teams have also been playing very well, which should even out any advantage that was given to Japan when they were selected as hosts for this tournament.
We think that Kenya will win by 27.5 points, and we plan to bet on it with Winline. We also think that the total over may be worth betting on because if Kenya has a handicap of plus (27.5 points), the bookmakers put the total over more. We don’t really think that Japan is better than expected, because they are playing at their home Olympics.
The outcome of the match
The African volleyball team started the game well. They played hard and were close to other teams. But they lost two sets, 25-15 and 25-11.
However, they were down 8-6 in the third set. In the first technical timeout, they came alive and were only down two points. They continued to fight against Japan and when it looked like they would turn the tide, Japan’s experience helped them win 25-23.
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