The four quarterfinal series will have their opening matches between Monday and Sunday
Published 07:26, 29 Mar 2026
Minas and Maringá will play on Tuesday in Belo Horizonte (Photo: Hedgard Moraes/MTC)
The temperature will rise in the 2025-2026 Brazilian Superliga this week with the start of the playoffs, and the women will be the first to get on the court.
Between Monday and Tuesday, the four best-of-three quarterfinal series will start, pitting the eight best teams from the regular season against each other for spots in the semifinals.
The quarterfinals will begin with what tends to be the most competitive series of the first round of the playoffs, reuniting fourth-placed Dentil Praia Clube and fifth-placed SESI Vôlei Bauru, who will play on Monday, at 18:30 local time (21:30 UTC), in Uberlândia. Later, at 21:00 (00:00 UTC, Tuesday), third-placed Osasco São Cristovão Saúde and sixth-placed Fluminense duel for the first time in Osasco.
Wednesday's schedule will begin with regular-season winners SESC RJ Flamengo visiting eighth-placed Batavo Mackenzie at 18:30 (21:30 UTC) in Belo Horizonte. The same city will host the first match between second-placed Gerdau Minas and seventh-placed Sancor Maringá Vôlei, which is set to begin at 21:00 (00:00 UTC, Wednesday).
The winners of a record 12 editions of the Superliga, Flamengo had the best campaign in the regular season, getting 19 wins and only three losses. A new addition to the team in 2025-2026, American outside hitter Simone Lee was the league's top scorer in the regular season with 424 points, and splits the offensive load with Olympic medalist opposite Tainara Santos.
Mackenzie, who are back in the Superliga playoffs for the first time since 2011-2012, claimed the eighth and last spot in the postseason after earning nine wins and 13 losses during the regular season. A former Flamengo player, outside hitter Gabriella 'Gabiru' Souza leads the team's offense alongside middle blocker Saraelen Lima - each of them scored 247 points so far.
Both encounters in the regular season went Flamengo's way, with the Rio de Janeiro side triumphing 3-1 on the road in December and in straight sets at home last Tuesday.
Minas fought neck and neck with Flamengo for the top seed, but had to settle for second after concluding the regular season with 18 wins and four losses. The six-time Superliga champions had Canadian outside hitter Hilary Johnson as their main scorer with 309 points and have arguably the strongest middle blocker duo in the country with Olympic champion Thaisa Menezes and Brazilian national team star Júlia Kudiess.
Making their second playoff appearance in club history, Maringá completed their regular-season schedule with ten wins and 12 losses. The fourth-best scorer in the Superliga with 353 points, opposite Jaque Schmitz was one of the sensations in their campaign alongside Honduran middle blocker Ana Marcelin, who became a starter in February and is now one of the pillars of the team.
Minas won all three duels against Maringá this season, triumphing both at home and away in the Superliga and coming out on top in the quarterfinals of the Brazilian Cup.
Defending champions Osasco continue alive in their journey to win the Superliga for the seventh time and had the third-best campaign in the regular season with 16 wins and six losses. Argentine opposite Bianca Cugno was a big part of their success, ranking second in the league in points with 415, while Olympic medalist libero Camila Brait is their backcourt leader.
Fluminense, which won a pair of Brazilian titles before the creation of the Superliga, ended up in sixth place with 14 wins and eight losses. They also have an elite scorer in opposite Ariane Pinto, the third-most productive player in the league with 408 points, and count on Brait's successor in the Brazilian national team, Marcelle Arruda, as their starting libero.
The teams met three times this season, and on each occasion the match went to five sets, with Fluminense winning both Superliga encounters and Osasco triumphing in the quarterfinals on their way to securing the Brazilian Cup title.
Two-time Superliga champions Praia ranked fourth in the regular season after earning 16 wins and six losses, but had fewer points than Osasco. American outside hitter Payton Caffrey fired 295 points so far and leads their offense, while Olympic champion Adenízia Ferreira offers the team a strong blocking presence at the net.
The recently crowned South American champions, SESI finished fifth in the regular season with 14 wins and eight losses. Looking for their first Superliga title, the team has a well-diversified offense run by Olympic champion setter Dani Lins, which had opposite Bruna Moraes (232 points) and Olympic medalist middle blocker Diana Duarte (230) as their most productive players in the regular season.
Praia have been dominant against SESI this season, having won both Superliga encounters and a duel in the Brazilian Cup quarterfinals without dropping any sets.
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