Sada/Cruzeiro Clinches Superliga’s 1st Seed – SL Round 21 Recap

2017-2018 BRAZILIAN MEN’S SUPERLIGA

• 10/14 – 03/17 – Regular Season
• Official League Site
• Teams
• Schedule
• Power Rankings
• Round 1; Round 2; Round 3; Round 4; Round 5; Round 6; Round 7; Round 8; Round 9; Round 10; Round 11
• Round 12; Round 13; Round 14; Round 15; Round 16; Round 17; Round 18; Round 19; Round 20

Regardless of its disappointing 2017 FIVB Club WCH run, and falling momentarily out of Superliga’s leader spot a few rounds ago, one would be naive to really think that Sada/Cruzeiro‘s grip on the competition was amiss. To completely shut out doubters, the team clinched Superliga’s 1st seed with still two games left, by beating title contender Sesi/SP 3-0 (22/25 17/25 21/25) behind Yoandy Leal‘s 14 points on 7/11 (64%) hitting. Alan Souza had 9 points in the losing effort. Cruzeiro had 14 aces in the match to Sesi‘s 4. Now, it will have the luxury of resting its starts for the playoffs and guaranteed home-court advantage in all of its phases.

• Vôlei Renata/Campinas beat Sesc/RJ 3-1 (25/22 16/25 25/18 25/21) behind Diogo Silva‘s 21 points on 18/26 (69%) hitting. Renan Buiatti had 15 points in the losing effort. Sesc out-blocked Campinas 15 to 8, but was held to 49% hitting to Campinas‘ 58% effort.
• EMS Funvic/Taubaté beat Corinthians/Guarulhos 3-0 (25/20 25/22 25/22) behind Wallace Souza‘s 17 points. Rogerio Nogueira had 13 points in the losing effort. Taubaté hit 59% from the court while holding Corinthians to a 51% effort.
• Montes Claros Vôlei beat Copel Telecom/Maringá 3-1 (20/25 25/22 25/20 25/15) behind Fabrício Dias 25 points on 20/32 (63%) hitting. Ialisson Amorin had 16 points in the losing effort. Montes Claros scored 11 aces to Maringá’s 4, while hitting 55% from the court.
• Minas Tênis Clube beat Ponta Grossa/Caramuru 3-1 (19/25 19/25 25/21 18/25) behind Yordan Bisset’s 17 points on 11/17 (65%). Cristiano Santos had 15 points in the losing effort. Minas held Ponta Grossa to 48% hitting while putting out a 59% effort.
• Lebes/Canoas beat JF Vôlei 3-1 (25/27 18/25 25/19 20/25). The game’s statsheet has not been released by the competition’s website.

Team of the Week: Sada/Cruzeiro

Not only did Cruzeiro clinch Superliga’s regular season 1st seed, it did so in style, completely outclassing title contenders Sesi/SP in three sets and a 15 point differential. Isac Santos, Yoandy Leal, and Robertlandy Simon combined for 21/29 (72.4%) hitting. Now the team will have the luxury or resting its key players for the playoffs, meaning its squad will go into the post-season fully fresh. Competitors beware.

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PARA DAR MORAL Absoluto e impiedoso em quadra, o Sada Cruzeiro aplicou um 3 a 0 no Sesi-SP, na casa do adversário, e consolidou a sua liderança na Superliga! A dois jogos do fim do returno, o clube celeste já não pode mais ser alcançado. Parabéns, guerreiros! No clássico nacional, Leal sacou muito, foi o maior pontuador do jogo e o mais votado pela internet para deixar o jogo com o troféu VivaVôlei. As parciais foram 25/22, 25/17 e 25/21. Fotos: Karen Griz – Sesi-SP

A post shared by Sada Cruzeiro (@sadacruzeiro) on Mar 10, 2018 at 3:36pm PST

Player of the Week: Fabrício Dias (Lorena)

Lorena‘s return to Montes Claros may not have gone as planned, specially after he got into a huge fight with his coach at the beginning of the season. He has, however, played much better lately, even going as far as earning a spot on the 2018 South American Club Championship’s Dream Team. This round, he showed that even at 39 years of age, he still has some fuel to burn by torching Montes Claros for 25 points 20/32 (63%) hitting. It may have been against one of Superliga’s worst teams, but we are just happy seeing vintage Lorena once again, as we never know when it’s going to be the last time.

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Boa semana a todos !!!

A post shared by Fabricio Dias Lorena (@voleilorena) on Mar 5, 2018 at 4:00pm PST

Standings