The four elimination duels will be held from Friday to Saturday
Published 05:00, 22 Jan 2026
Praia and SESI will meet in the last match of the quarterfinal round, on Saturday (Photo: Bruno Cunha/Praia Clube)
Reuniting the best eight teams from the first half of the 2025-2026 Brazilian Women's Superliga regular season, the Brazilian Cup kicks off this weekend, with the four quarterfinal duels taking place between Friday and Saturday.
The Brazilian Cup is played in a single elimination format, and will have the highest-ranked teams hosting this weekend's matches. The four winners will advance to the Final Four, which will take place in Londrina on February 7-8.
Superliga leaders SESC RJ Flamengo will be the first to get on the court, playing Paulistano Barueri, which now ranks tenth, on Friday, at 18:30 local time (21:30 UTC) in Rio de Janeiro. The teams have met twice already in the 2025-2026 Superliga and Flamengo triumphed on both occasions without dropping sets.
Coached by the legendary Bernardo 'Bernardinho' Rezende, Flamengo have American outside hitter Simone Lee as their main star and surround her with Brazilian national team regulars, such as opposite Tainara Santos, middle blocker Lorena Viezel and outside hitter Helena Wenk.
Recognized as one of the top teams in the country when it comes to developing young athletes, Barueri have some up-and-coming Brazilian national team players in their squad, most notably middle blocker Luzia Nezzo, opposite Jheovana Emanuele and outside hitter Aline Segato.
Also on Friday, reigning Superliga and Brazilian Cup champions Osasco São Cristovão Saúde, which currently rank fourth in the standings, face sixth-placed Fluminense in São Paulo. Set to play at 21:00 (00:00 UTC, Saturday), the teams have met once in the current edition of the Superliga and Fluminense triumphed in the tie-breaker.
The 2025 FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship bronze medalists, Osasco are led by Olympic medalist libero Camila Brait and have a pair of high-scoring international players in Argentine opposite Bianca Cugno and American outside hitter Caitie Baird.
Fluminense rely on Brazilian national team libero Marcelle Arruda, Olympic setter Fabíola Souza and productive opposite Ariane Pinto to try and upset the defending champions on the road.
Saturday's Brazilian Cup schedule will have what should be the most unpredictable duel of the quarterfinal round, reuniting Superliga's third-placed Dentil Praia Clube and last year's Brazilian Cup runners-up SESI Vôlei Bauru, which are fifth in the Superliga right now. The teams play the second match of the day, at 21:00 (00:00 UTC, Sunday) in Uberlândia, where Praia swept their rivals in the Superliga in November.
The home team, the Club World Championship semifinalists, have a wealth of experience in their squad, highlighted by Olympic champion middle blocker Adenízia Ferreira and Olympic medalists Macris Carneiro (setter) and Natália 'Natinha' Araújo (libero).
Their opponents SESI are led by Olympic champion setter Dani Lins and have other standouts in Brazilian volleyball, such as Olympic medalist middle blocker Diana Duarte and Olympic libero Léia Silva.
Earlier, at 18:30 (21:30 UTC), Superliga's second-placed Gerdau Minas and seventh-placed Sancor Maringá Vôlei meet in Belo Horizonte. The teams met in the same place in November, during the Superliga, and Minas triumphed in straight sets.
The home team will try to produce another victory, relying on their elite middle blocker duo formed by Olympic champion Thaisa Menezes and Brazilian national team rising star Júlia Kudiess. A new signing in 2025-2026, Polish setter Júlia Nowicka has settled in nicely with her new team.
Perhaps the main surprise in the Brazilian Cup this season, Maringá count on opposite Jaqueline Schmitz, the fifth-best scorer in the Superliga, and rely on the experience of setter Bruna 'Bruninha' Costa and outside hitter Gabriela Cândido.
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