Sesc Upsets Title Favorites Taubaté On Its Superliga Debut

2017-2018 BRAZILIAN MEN’S SUPERLIGA

• 10/14 – 03/17 – Regular Season
• Official League Site
• Teams
• Schedule
• Power Rankings

The Brazilian men’s Superliga kicked off with a bang, showing the great parity that is to be expected between the top teams of the tournament. On the first match of the first round of play, title favorites EMS Funvic/Taubaté were handed a loss at the hands of recently promoted Sesc/RJ. Meanwhile, title favorites Sada/Cruzeiro needed four sets to beat also recently promoted Corinthians/Guarulho in their Superliga debut.

Check out all results from round 1 below:

Sesc/RJ upset EMS Funvic/Taubaté 3-1 (25/22, 25/19, 23/25, 25/19) behind Paulo Silva’s 26 point effort on 69% hitting efficiency, three aces and four blocks. Meanwhile, veteran Dante Amaral had 15 points for the losing side. Taubaté hit 61% as a team. Marko Ivovic is still nurturing an ankle injury and did not make his debut for Taubaté.

Lebes/Canoas upset Montes Claros Vôlei 3-0 (26/24, 25/22, 25/23) behind Leandro Silva’s 24 point effort. Lisandro Zanotti and Bruno Dianini had 13 points each for the losing team, which boasted a very poor 19% reception efficiency.

Sesi/SP beat Copel Telecon/Maringá 3-0 (22/25, 22/25, 13/25) behind Alan Souza’s 20 points. Alisson Bastos had 10 points in the losing effort. Sesi had 9 aces and 9 blocks on the match and a very high 61% reception efficiency.

Title favorites Sada/Cruzeiro handed Corinthians/Guarulhos a 3-1 (31/29, 18/25, 15/25, 22/25) loss behind Evandro Guerra‘s 16 points. Rogério Nogueira had 12 points in the losing effort. Corinthians had an unbelievable 30 service errors in the match.

Vôlei Renata/Campinas handed Caramuru/Castro a 3-0 (21/25, 21/25, 20/25) loss behind Leandro Vissoto‘s 23 points on 75% percent hitting efficiency. Fernando Fazanha had 11 points in the losing effort. Campinas had a 62% hitting efficiency as a team.

Minas Tênis Clube handed JF Vôlei a 3-1 loss behind Felipe Roque’s 20 point effort and 64% hitting efficiency. Leonardo Nascimento had 32 points in the losing effort, including 4 aces and 4 blocks and a 63% hitting efficiency. Minas Tênis Clube hit 61% as a team.

Team of the Week: Sesc/RJ

To debut on the competition after its recent Superliga promotion with a win against  a title favorite team that boasts a millionaire payroll is special, and builds a lot of confidence for the rest of the season.

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Tudo pronto pra grande estreia na Superliga 2017/18! 👊🏻 #JuntosSomosMaisQueUmTime #ProgramaSescEsporte

A post shared by Sesc RJ Vôlei Masculino 🏐 (@sescrjvolei) on Oct 14, 2017 at 9:20am PDT

Player of the Week: Sesc’s Paulo Silva

Although Leonardo Nascimento had 32 points in a losing effort, including 4 aces and 4 blocks and a 63% hitting effort, Paulo Silva’s 26 point effort on 69% hitting efficiency, three aces and four blocks on Sesc’s upset against Taubaté was the best effort of the week due to the effect that the win will have on Sesc’s future in the competition. Also, Paulo Silva had to fight harder for his points, as he only attacked on 27.5% of his team’s possessions, while Nascimento was a one man show at 40% usage rate.

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Você quer melhor jogador da partida, @? Então tá aí! O nosso PV foi o vencedor do primeiro Troféu VivaVôlei CIMED da temporada da Superliga 2017/2018. Jogou muito o nosso camisa 15! 👏🏻🏆 #JuntosSomosMaisQueUmTime . 📸: Carlos Erbs Jr.

A post shared by Sesc RJ Vôlei Masculino 🏐 (@sescrjvolei) on Oct 14, 2017 at 2:15pm PDT

Standings