Sesi Closing In On Superliga Leaders – Round 7 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 6 of Superliga saw teams fighting to position themselves in a favorable playoff berth. While most of title favorites had no trouble advancing through its competition, Taubaté almost got upset by Montes Claros, winning the game at the tie break after opening up a comfortable 2-0 lead. This was a Montes Claros team without one of its most important players, Fabrício Dias (Lorena), who was left out of the game roster most probably due to the fight he had with his coach last week. Below, you’ll find information from all of the day’s action:

• Sada Cruzeiro beat Minas Tênis Clube in a very tight 3-0 (23/25 24/26 24/26) win behind Yoandy Leal‘s 14 points. Felipe Roque had 13 points in the losing effort. Both team had very similar stats for the game: both had 7 blocks, 18 errors from the service line. Cruzeiro hit 55% to Minas 56%, while erring in 7 attacks to Minas‘ 7. Ultimately, it all came down to points from errors, as Minas gifted Cruzeiro 33 points, while only being gifted 29.
• Sesi/SP beat Vôlei Renata/Campinas 3-1 (18/25 18/25 30/28 12/25) behind Alan Souza‘s 25 points on 22 for 37 (59%) hitting and three blocks. Matheus Esquivel had 19 points in the losing effort. Sesi out-blocked Campinas 15 to 6 in the match, while also outhitting them 56% to 41%.
• Sesc/RJ beat JF Vôlei 3-0 (18/25 18/25 22/25) behind Renan Buiatti‘s 15 points on 14 for 25 (56%) hitting. Raphael Marcarini had 13 points in the losing effort. Sesc outhit JF 54% to 38%.
• EMS Funvic/Taubaté beat Montes Claros Vôlei in a 3-2 (21/25 23/25 25/23 25/17 6/15) war. Wallace Souza led the way for the winners with 26 points on 26 for 40 (65%) hitting. Alexander Marczewski had 19 points in the losing effort. Even though Montes Claros out-blocked Taubaté 14 to 5 in the match, it also gifted them an incredible 36 points from errors.
• Lebes/Canoas beat Copel Telecom/Maringá 3-1 (25/23 23/25 25/16 26/24) behind Leandro Silva‘s 20 points. Alisson Bastos had 17 points in the losing effort. Both teams hit 48% from the field, with Canoas out-blocking Maringá 13 to 7 in the game, while also being gifted 37 points from errors by the team.
• Coritnthians/Guarulhos beat Ponta Grossa/Caramuru (25/16 21/25 23/25 30/28 12/15). As of today, no stats were made available to the media for this game.

Team of the week: Sesi/SP

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E continuamos fortes na super liga, duas rodadas e duas vitórias. Próximo jogo é contra o Sada Cruzeiro. #vamosquevamos #sesi #01 #sesiloco

A post shared by Alan Souza (@alan_souza01) on Oct 23, 2017 at 3:55pm PDT

With this week’s win over state rivals Campinas, Sesi achieved greater comfort in the standings en route to playoff home court advantage. It now holds a six point league over 5th place Minas, although it has played an extra game. Sesi won its game in controlled fashion, dominating its opponent both in the defensive and offensive aspects of the game. It out-blocked Campinas 15 to 6 in the match, while also outhitting them 56% to 41%.

Player of the week: Alan Souza

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Ontem ganhamos de 3 a 0 o jogo contra o Juiz de Fora. E ainda levei o troféu viva vôlei, obrigado a todos que votaram em mim. 😊✌🏽 #sesiloco #01 #teamgm #vivavolei

A post shared by Alan Souza (@alan_souza01) on Nov 5, 2017 at 5:27am PST

Although only 23 years old, Alan Souza is one of the biggest promises in Brazilian volleyball. This week he remembered fans why. The outside hitter had  a great all around performance, scoring 25 points on 22 for 37 (59%) hitting and three blocks on Sesi‘s win over Campinas. Sesi‘s hopes for a deep Superliga playoff run rests on Souza’s further development as a player this season.

Standings

*These teams had some games played ahead of schedule