Minas lead Brazilian trio into South American Championship semis

The second day of the South American Men's Club Championship in Contagem opposed the current leaders of the Brazilian Superliga and Argentinean League in one of the biggest volleyball derbies on the continent.

Pushed by their fans, who made the trip from the neighbouring city Belo Horizonte, Fiat Gerdau Minas secured a straight-set (25-23, 25-14, 25-19) win over Ciudad Voley and guaranteed a spot in the semifinals of the tournament as the winners of Pool B with two victories.

Fighting for their fourth continental title following victories in 1984, 1985 and 1999, Minas dominated Ciudad with solid performances by Rio 2016 Olympic champion setter William Arjona, 2010 world champion opposite Leandro Vissotto and 2021 Volleyball Nations League winner libero Maique Nascimento.

“We expected a more nervous and complicated match in a certain way,” Maique said. “Their team is very skilled and extremely well-coached, but we prepared well for the match. We were able to keep a good level for most of the match despite being a little bit inconsistent in the fourth set. The entire team played really well and hopefully we can repeat that in the semifinal.”

Fellow Brazilians Sada Cruzeiro Volei, who were the winners of last year’s FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship, and Volei Renata are also guaranteed a place in the semifinals as the first-placed sides in Pools A and C respectively. Sada defeated Peru’s Vamos Perlees 3-0 (25-17, 25-8, 25-15) on Thursday, while Volei Renata came from behind to top Argentina’s Policial Voley 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-22).

The fourth and final semifinal spot will be decided on Friday, when the pool stage ends. The best second-placed team will join the Brazilians in the Final Four. The matches set to take place on the third day of the event will see Bolivia’s Club San Martin facing Policial, Ciudad meeting Chile’s Club Excelsior and Uruguay’s Club Atletico Bohemios playing against Vamos Perlees. The semifinals will follow on Saturday and the medal matches are scheduled for Sunday.