After years in the cold, Cheptil bounced back to the limelight after beating national volley champions Arnesen Boys during the Rift-Valley Secondary School Term Two games at Bomet Green Stadium on Saturday.
Cheptil, who are former national volleyball champions, defeated their Arnesen Boys from Trans Nzoia 3-0 to bounce back into contention.
On their way to finals, Cheptil defeated St. Patrick Iten ( Elgeyo-Marakwet) 3-1 while Arnesen beat Uasin Gishu’s Simat High School 3-0 in the other semis.
During the preliminary stages, Arnesen had beaten Cheptil 3-0. It was sweet revenge for the Nandi County-based school who had repeatedly lost to Arnesen in previous regional shows. During last year's finals in Nyahururu, Cheptil lost 3-0 to the current champions.
Cheptil head coach Hillary Melly said they are going to the nationals with only one intention of reclaiming the title. “We want to reclaim both the national and East Africa titles,” Melly said.
In the girls’ competition, national champions Kesogon Secondary School eased past former champions AIC Kosirai 3-0 to defend the regional title.
The reigning champions from Trans Nzoia County dismissed Bomet’s Kaboson 3-0 in the semi-final as AIC Kosirai of Nandi County beat Trinity Mission Girls-Gilgil from Nakuru with a similar score margin.
Despite losing the boys' volleyball title, Arnesen won the netball title at Bomet Green Stadium.
They beat NYS Secondary School from Nakuru County 63-19 in a one-sided match. Kabeareng Secondary secured the third spot after edging Kapkitony 28-15.