On 3 August 2019, the Secondary Schools National Term Two games came to a close in Kisumu, marking the end of a grueling competition.
Having secured their spots in the East Africa Secondary Schools games set to take place from 15 to 24 August in Arusha, Tanzania, the teams were eager to claim national glory.
Among the defending champions were Kwanthanze, who had won the girls' volleyball title the previous year and were also the reigning East Africa champions.
However, their quest for a fifth national title was threatened by perennial rivals Cheptil.
On their path to the finals, Kwanthanze defeated Soweto Academy 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-20), while Cheptil sent Passenga packing in straight sets of 25-5, 25-12, and 25-12.
Meanwhile, in the boys' contest, last year's third-place finishers Mogonga PAG were set to face newcomers Lelmokwo in the final.
Mogonga captain Morgan Mutai expressed his team's determination to lift the trophy, stating, 'We were clear favourites from the beginning because most of our opponents were new to the games while we had finished third last year. Our aim is to win the national trophy and we are going for it.'
However, Lelmokwo's Mark Cheruiyot was confident that his team would prove themselves to be more than just pushovers, saying, 'We lost to them (Mogonga) because we were new to the games but we will prove a point to them. We will not allow them to beat us twice in one championship.'
