Destinee Hooker Shines In Minas’ Upset of Osasco – SL Round 8 Recap

2017-2018 BRAZILIAN WOMEN’S SUPERLIGA

• 10/15 – 03/02 – Regular Season
• Official League Site
• Teams
• Schedule
• Power Rankings
• Round 1; Round 2; Round 3; Round 4; Round 5; Round 6; Round 7

Camponesa/Minas had an spectacular comeback from 2-0 to hand Nestlé/Osasco a 3-2 defeat (25/21 25/19 30/32 15/25 13/15). Both Priscila Moreira (Pri Daroit) and Rosamaria Montibeller had 18 points in the winning effort.  Destinee Hooker came off the bench on the third set and remained on the game to chip in with 12 points and a play a major role in her squad’s victory. Tandara Caixeta had 21 points for the losing side. Below, you’ll find info on all of the round’s action:

Team USA Watch

Hooker was one of the difference makers for her team today. After she subbed in, Minas was able to avoid disaster in the third set, narrowly closing it out at 32-30, to be able to remain on contention and close the game out at the tie break. She hit a respectable 12 for 26 (46%) from the field

Meanwhile, Uberlândia‘s Nicole Fawcett once again reached double digits on scoring with ten points on 8 for 22 (36%) hitting and two blocks.  The only thing missing for her is attack efficiency, as she consistently hit under 40% in all her games so far.

Recaps

• Dentil Praia Clube/Uberlândia beat Sesi/SP 3-0 (17/25 10/25 11/25) behind Fernanda Garay‘s 13 points on 10 for 20 hitting and 3 blocks. Meanwhile, Alessandra Santos (Neneca) had 7 points in the losing effort. Sesi was out-blocked 15 to 6 in the game, while hitting an abysmal 20% as a team.
• Sesc/RJ handed Vôlei Bauru a 3-0 (25/21 25/23 25/19) loss behind Drussyla Costa‘ 19 points on 16 or 29 (55%) hitting. Yoana Palacio had 14 points in the losing effort. Bauru gifted Rio with 26 points from errors.
• Esporte Clube Pinheiros beat São Cristovão Saúde/São Caetano 3-0 (18/25 20/25 15/25) behind Bruna Honório‘s 21 points on 16 for 31 (52%) hitting and 5 blocks. Fernanda Tomé had 14 points in the losing effort. São Caetano only hit 26% from the field as a team compared to Pinheiro’s 46% hitting percentage.
• Fluminense beat Renata Country/Valinhos 3-1 (25/23 16/25 20/25 16/25) behind Thais Souza‘s (Thaisinha) 21 points. The 5’8″ opposite hitter, one of the shortest players at her position in Brazil, also had 3 blocks to go along with her 16 kills. Meanwhile, Ana Oliveira had 11 points in the losing effort. Valinhos only hit 27% from the field as a team.
• Hinode/Barueri‘s game with BRB/Brasília was postponed to 11/21.

Team of the Week: Minas

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bbj-M21lz2o/?taken-by=camponesaminasoficial

Minas‘ win against Osasco was a statement that the team is serious about contending for the title. After being down 2-0, the team was able to muster up all its strength to avoid disaster and close an incredible third set at 32-30, to be able to go grit and grind its way to a win at the tie break. It was by far its most amazing performance of the season, as the team just refused to lose. The win put the squad at a 5-3 recond, with a solid hold at Superliga’s 4th playoff seed.

Player of the Week: Bruna Honório

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Vitória importante , sequência importante. Boa time, vamos pra cima sempre!! 👏🏼🙌🏼🤜🏽🤛🏼✌🏼💪🏼😃

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Although Hooker’s performance was essential in her team’s important win, she had a lot of help from her team mates. Furthermore, we all know what she is capable off, and expect much greater things from her once she reaches her best shape and starts games for Minas.

That is why we are skipping over Hooker today and awarding Pinheiro’s lone gunner Bruna Honório with player of the week honors. Pinheiros is having a brave season, with a record of 4-4, sitting at 7th place in the standings, even though its team budget is not as high as Superliga’s top dogs. Tied with 6th place Fluminense on points and sets ratio, it is a mere 0.022 away on points ratio behind them on the standings. Pinheiros knows that a 6th place finish at the end of Superliga may be the difference between a quick elimination at the Round of 8 or reaching the semifinals.

If Bruna Honório continues to play like she did today, they have a great chance of making it happen. The outside hitter had 21 points, hit 16 for 31 (52%) from the field, and added 5 blocks to her stat-sheet to propel her team to a 3-0 win and close out the night’s best all around performance. These are numbers you’d expect from a middle blocker, not a 5’11 outside hitter.

Standings

*Teams that are one game behind schedule