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
EMS Funvic/Taubaté started the season as one of Superliga’s title favorites. However, with the loss of Ricardo Lucarelli to a potential season-ending Achilles tendon injury, its chances at a deep playoff run is in serious jeopardy. It struggled mightily this round to beat Sesi/SP 3-2 (18/25 28/30 25/22 25/22 19/21) behind Wallace Souza‘s 25 points. 37-year-old Dante Amaral, an Olympic gold medalist in the 2004 games, started the game in place of Lucarelli and contributed to Taubate’s win with 19 points. Taubaté won the game despite being out-blocked 13 to 7 in the match and committing an absurd amount of errors, 42 in total, to Sesi‘s 33. Sesi‘s Alan Souza had 25 points in the losing effort.
Below, you’ll find information on all of the round’s games:
- Sesc/RJ beat Montes Claros Vôlei 3-0 (25/27 17/25 23/25) behind Renan Buiatti‘s 12 points on 11/17 (65%) hitting. Lisandro Zanotti had 10 points in the losing effort. Montes Claros gifted SESC with 24 points from errors, while also being outhit 59% to 49% for the match.
- Minas Tenis Clube beat Copel Telecom/Maringá 3-2 behind Felipe Roque‘s 19 points on 18/29 (62%) hitting. Alisson Bastos had 18 points in the losing effort. Both teams combined for a whopping 70 errors (37 from Minas, 33 from Maringá). Maringá won the blocking game 13 to 7, but was outhit 48% to 59%.
- Corinthians/Guarulhos beat Lebes/Canoas in a very tight 3-0 (27/29 26/28 24/26) match behind Rodrigo Nascimento’s 17 points on 15/22 (68%) hitting. Aboubacar Neto had 21 points in the losing effort. Corinthians hit 65% for the match, while also being gifted with 27 points from errors.
- Ponta Grossa/Caramuru beat JF Vôlei in a closely contested 3-1 (20/25 31/29 21/25 26/28) match behind Leonardo Pinheiro‘s 31 points on 28/41 (68%) hitting. Emerson Rodríguez had 33 points in the losing effort. Ponta Grossa hit 60% for the game, while also being gifted 30 points from errors.
- Sada/Cruzeiro beat Vôlei Renata 3-0 (20/25 19/25 27/29) behind Isac Santos‘ 10 points on 8/10 hitting. Leandro Vissoto had 12 points in the losing effort. Both teams combined for 61 errors (30 for Cruzeiro, 31 for Campinas). Cruzeiro hit an amazing 71% for the match.
Team of the Week: Taubaté
Losing a star player can be a death sentence for most squads. While it is still early to give a verdict on Taubaté’s case, its first game without Ricardo Lucarelli showed the team had grit and guts, and will not give up on its season. It went against Sesi in a direct fight for the 3rd place in the standings, coming out on top in a very tight tie break race. Dante’s heroics out of the bench, after greatly supporting Lucarelli in his personal social media after the player’s injury, showed that the team has a deep bench and closely-knit camaraderie between the players.
Player of the week: Leonardo Pinheiros
Ponta Grossa was relegated at the end of last season, after being the tournament’s punching bag, and only gained the rights to compete in Superliga after a repechage tournament earlier in the year. This time around, it is safe to say the squad is all but clear from any relegation worries and has a realistic chance at making the playoffs.
This change of environment was brought upon partly by the strong play of Leonardo Pinheiros. This round, the 6’9″ outside hitter had an explosion for a very efficient 31 points on 28/41 (68%) hitting. That is one of the most impressive scoring outputs of this Superliga’s season so far.
Standings
| Rk | Team | Points |
| 1 | SADA CRUZEIRO* | 30 |
| 2 | SESC-RJ | 25 |
| 3 | EMS TAUBATE FUNVIC* | 22 |
| 4 | SESI-SP* | 21 |
| 5 | CORINTHIANS-GUARULHOS | 16 |
| 6 | MINAS TENIS CLUBE | 15 |
| 7 | VOLEI RENATA | 11 |
| 8 | LEBES/CANOAS | 11 |
| 9 | PONTA GROSSA/CARAMURU | 8 |
| 10 | MONTES CLAROS VOLEI | 5 |
| 11 | JF VOLEI | 2 |
| 12 | COPEL/TELECOM/MARINGA | 2 |
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