Uberlândia Narrowly Beats Fluminense, Remains Perfect – Round 15 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
• Round 12; Round 13; Round 14

One would think that only powerhouses like  Sesc/Rj or Vôlei Nestlé/Osasco would be able to threaten Dentil/Praia Clube Uberlândia‘s perfect record this season. However, Fluminense, the tournament’s 5th placed team, showed that anything can happen in Superliga, taking the unbeaten Praia squad to 5 sets this weekend. This was Uberlândia‘s first 5-setter of the season, as it had previously lost only 2 sets on 14 games prior to this round.

Uberlândia had to come back from behind to beat Fluminense in a 3-2 war (25/18 15/25 25/22 19/25 11/15) behind Fernanda Garay‘s 19 points. Renata Colombo had a very impressive 28-point-night on 25/50 hitting, but it wasn’t enough to prevent her team’s loss. Uberlândia out-blocked Fluminense 19 to 12 for the match, while also outhitting it 39% to 34%. Nicole Fawcett sat out for Uberlândia, as did Fluminense‘s high scoring opposite Thaisa Souza.

Team USA Watch

Of Superliga’s 4 American players, only Destinee Hooker took the court this round. She led Minas‘ easy 3-set-win over Brasília with a team high 14 points on 12/27 (44%) hitting, including two blocks. Nicole Fawcett had a rest day, and Sonja Newcombe and Carli Lloyd are yet to debut for their respective teams.

Recaps

• Vôlei Bauru beat Sesi/SP 3-1 (25/19 24/26 33/31 25/12) behind another one of Tiffany Abreu’s monster performances. She led her team with 21 points. Domingas Araujo had 14 points in the losing effort. The game was an error-fest, with both teams combining for 64 errors (Sesi = 34, Bauru = 30). Bauru outhit Sesi 41% to 28% for the match.
• Camponesa/Minas completely outclassed BRB/Brasíilia in an easy 3-0 (25/17 25/8 25/22) win behind Destinee Hooker‘s 14 points. Maria Luisa (Malu) had 10 points in the losing effort. Minas outblocked Brasília 13 to 3 in the match, while also outhitting it 41% to 26%.
• Sesc/RJ beat São Cristovão Saúde/São Caetano 3-0 (18/25 21/25 21/25) behind Monique Pavão’s 17 points. Fernanda Tomé had 11 points in the losing effort. Sesc outhit its opponent 46% to 27% for the match.
• Hinode/Barueri beat Renata Country/Valinhos 3-0 (20/25 18/25 19/25) behind Edinara Brancher‘s 17 points. Nayara Felix had 8 points in the losing effort. Barueri outblocked Valinhos 15 to 5 in the match.
• Vôlei Nestlé/Osasco needed five sets to beat Pinheiros 3-2 (2/25 28/26 22/25 25/22 13/15) behind Tandara Caixeita‘s 26 points, including 5 blocks. Bruna Honório had 25 points in the losing effort. Both teams combined for an amazing 37 blocks for the match (Osasco with 20, Pinheiros with 17).

Team of The Week: Fluminense

This is the first time we at VolleyMob award a losing team with Team of the Week Honors. The reason for this is that Fluminense did what 10 other Superliga teams couldn’t do this season: take Uberlândia‘s Dream Team to five sets. If it wasn’t for minor details, including giving up a 5 point lead on the tie-break set, it could very well have handed Uberlândia its first loss of the season. Fluminense now has won as many sets against Uberlândia as all other Superliga teams combined.

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As Guerreiras tricolores estão vencendo o Praia Clube por 2 sets a 1. Transmissão do @sportv. Fique ligado! #FluOlímpico

A post shared by Fluminense Football Club (@fluminensefc) on Jan 14, 2018 at 4:24pm PST

Player of the Week: Renata Colombo

Likewise, we are not very fond of giving players whose teams lost their round’s games Player of the Week awards. However, Renata Colombo‘s performance was just too special to pass up on. The 36-year-old great, who for years wore Brazil’s National Team’s colors, and almost had her career cut short due to a cervical tumor, turned back the clock and torched Uberlândia‘s defense for 28 points on 50% hitting, including 2 blocks and an ace. If Fluminense almost pulled a miracle this weekend, it was due to Renata Colombo‘s superb play.

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Semana começando ☀️👊🏻💪🏻🍀!!! #guerreiras #vamosquevamos #tmj #goflu #decisão #Superliga #underamour @zinzaneoficial @fluminensefc

A post shared by renatacolombo (@renatacolombo) on Jan 8, 2018 at 6:25am PST

Standings