São Caetano Upsets Minas In 5-Set Thriller – Superliga Round 12 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; Round 8; Round 9; Round 10; Round 11

Just like in Superliga’s 1st round, the modest São Caetano team once again upset mighty Camponesa Minas, this time with a little bit of more effort than their previous 3-0 match. This week’s game was a truly contested, only being decided in the fifth set (25-18 16-25 25-22 16-25 15-10). Sabrina Machado led the way for São Caetano with 18 points. Rosamaria Montibeller had 20 points in the losing effort. Minas out-blocked and hit better from the field than São Caetano, but errored more than its opponent, which was the difference maker down the stretch.

São Caetano, which lacks aggressive financial investment, has been a rock in the shoes of many powerful squads this season and is greatly overachieving. It may have just what it takes to make it to the playoffs this year. Below, you’ll find information from all of the day’s games:

Team USA Watch

Nicole Fawcett had a very quiet performance against Valinhos, scoring 7 points on 5/18 hitting (28%) to go along with two blocks and an ace. Destinee Hooker did not enter her game against São Caetano due to a coach’s decision.

Recaps

• Fluminense beat Brb Brasília 3-1 (22-25 25-22 25-11 25-11) behind Renata Colombo‘s 17 points. Meanwhile, Aline Silva had 11 points and Fernanda Campos 7 blocks in the losing effort. Fluminense outhit Brasília 47% to 29% for the game.
• Dentil Praia Clube Uberlândia beat Renata Country Valinhos 3-0 (25-13 25-20 25-13) behind Fabiana Claudino‘s 15 points on 9/11 (82%) hitting, 3 aces, and 3 blocks. Nayara Felix had 8 points in the losing effort. Uberlândia out-blocked Valinhos 11 to 3, and outhit the team 46% to 27% for the match, while also being gifted 25 points from errors.
• Vôlei Bauru beat Esporte Clube Pinheiros 3-1 (25-18 25-22 24-26 25-16) behind Tiffany Abreu’s 25 points. Mari Cassemiro had 11 points in the losing effort. Pinheiros gifted Bauru with an incredible 45 points from errors.
• Sesc/RJ beat Sesi/SP 3-0 (25-20 25-14 25-13) behind Vivian Pellegrino’s 11 points. Domingas Araujo had 9 points in the losing effort. Sesc out-blocked Sesi 9 to 3 for the match, while also outhitting the team 43% to 28%. National teamer Gabriela Guimarães returned from surgery, subbed in a few times during the game, and finished the contest with 2 kills and 1 ace.
• Vôlei Nestlé/Osasco beat Hinode 3-1 (19-25 25-13 26-24 25-10) behind Nadja Ninkovic‘s 14 points on 8/10 hitting, including 5 blocks and an ace. Edinara Brancher had 16 points in the losing effort. Barueri lost the blocking game 5 to 14, while also being outhit 33% to 51%.

Team of the Week: São Caetano

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcgIt7-FgBn/?hl=pt-br&taken-by=saocaetanovoleifeminino

There is a long gap between São Caetano and Minas in the standings, but that fact alone wasn’t enough for the overachieving squad to beat Minas for the second time this year and sweep their season series. With the win, São Caetano holds firmly to the 8th spot, in spite of Bauru‘s strong chase to get inside the playoff zone.

Player of the Week: Nadja Ninkovic

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Você queria estrangeira? Então toma! Bem vinda, Nadja Ninkovic, a meio de rede sérvia que chega pra reforçar o nosso time!

A post shared by Osasco Voleibol Clube (@osascovoleibolclube) on Aug 30, 2017 at 8:05am PDT

The Serbian player has been slowly getting into her best shape ever since she joined Osasco. With Superliga past its halfway point, it now looks like Nadja has found her best game. This week against Barueri, she connected on 8 of 10 kills to go along with 5 blocks and an ace to completely take over the game on both “sides” of the court. If she continues to play like this, Osasco may just have a chance against Uberlândia and Sesc

Standings