The Kenya Women's volleyball national team, Malkia Strikers, will open their 2026 CAVB Women's Africa Championship with a clash against Zambia on Tuesday 25 August, at the Kasarani Indoor Arena from 1900 hrs.Kenya, who are the defending champions, landed a friendly pool following the draw conducted on Monday.Download our Mozzart Sport App for more newsKenya will face: Zambia and Mali. Initially, the Kenyan girls were to face Morocco in the same pool, but the North Africans were disqualified for failing to show up for the technical meeting held at a Nairobi Hotel on Monday, 24 August.The tournament, which is expected to run from today to Saturday 5 September, will be held at the Kasarani Indoor Arena and Ulinzi Sports Complex.##NAJAVA_MECA_9915626##It will bring together 15 teams competing for the prestigious title, with Kenya opening the floor just after the opening ceremonyThe Malkia Strikers will be keen to start on the right foot in the quest to defend the title, which will also guarantee them a place in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.Renowned US coach watches as Kinda, young swimmers impress at National Junior Championships in NanyukiCoach Geoffrey Omondi backs his team to succeed despite not having any prior knowledge of how their opponents set up.“I have not watched any of the teams in our pool play, and that makes it difficult to talk about them or what to expect from them. But we just want to start with a win and plan from there. When you play tough opponents in the group stage, in a way you can tell how prepared you are, but I guess we will cross the bridge when we get there. The draws have been friendly,” said Omondi.Why CAVB has moved men's championship from DRC to TunisiaOn his part, Zambia assistant coach Martin Mwemba revealed that his team is targeting at least a semi-final slot in what is their debut in the championship. “This is our first time participating in this competition. We didn’t expect to be pooled against the defending champions, Kenya, but here we are. We will give our all since we also qualified to be here on merit. The players have their target, which is to reach the semifinal, and we are determined to do that. The sport is growing pretty fast in our country, and we will be regular participants in future events,” said Mwemba.Save for Pool A, the continental event will feature four teams, playing in a round-robin format at the group stage.𝐏𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐀1. Zambia2. BYE3. Kenya4. Mali𝐏𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐁1. Uganda2. Egypt3. Senegal4. Burkina Faso𝐏𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐂1. Nigeria2. Cameroon3. Tunisia4. Ghana𝐏𝐎𝐎𝐋 𝐃1. Algeria2. Congo RDC3. Rwanda4. Burundi