Sada Cruzeiro beat Trentino and remain alive

Brazilian giants Sada Cruzeiro took a potentially decisive step in the race to qualify for the semifinals of the FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship 2024 on Thursday, by beating Italian giants Itas Trentino in their final Pool B match at the Sabiazinho Arena, in Uberlândia.

The impressive five-set victory over the reigning European champions gave the Brazilians two crucial points in pool play. However, they still depend on the result of the match between Iran’s Shahdab Yazd and Argentina’s Ciudad Voley to advance.

• Watch the FIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championship live on VBTV

With five points, Cruzeiro will move forward if Shahdad, who have three, don’t beat Ciudad 3-0 or 3-1 in their Friday encounter, which is scheduled for 17:00 local time (20:00 GMT). If the Iranians collect all three points, they will move forward.

On Thursday, the already-qualified Trentino kept world champions Alessandro Michieletto, Daniele Lavia and Riccardo Sbertoli on the bench and Sada Cruzeiro benefited from it to secure a dramatic 3-2 (19-25, 25-21, 18-25, 25-16, 15-12) victory.

Veteran opposite Wallace de Souza carried his team to victory as the Sada Cruzeiro captain and Rio 2016 Olympic champion tallied a match-high 29 points, with 27 kills, one block and one ace. His team’s second-best scorer was outside hitter Gabriel Vaccari, who registered 15 points in his first start in the tournament.

“We knew this was going to be a very tough match,” Wallace reflected. “It was a big win for us, but unfortunately, it’s still not enough to secure us a spot in the semifinals regardless of the other match. But whatever happens, I’m really proud of the team. We left everything on the court again and were strong-minded in the key moments of the match.”

With Michieletto and Lavia out, outside hitter Giulio Magalini and opposite Kamil Rychlicki led Trentino’s offense, with 19 and 18 points respectively.

Foolad remain undefeated

Whoever emerges from the battle between Sada Cruzeiro and Shahdab will face reigning Asian champions Foolad Sirjan Iranian in the semifinals in Uberlândia. The Iranians are the only undefeated team in pool play in Brazil and completed their perfect Pool A campaign with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-13, 25-21) victory over hosts Praia Clube on Thursday.

Outside hitter Alireza Abdolhamidi delivered another strong performance, leading the team with 18 points (16 kills, one block, one ace), followed by opposite Ali Hajipour, who left the court with 14 (12 kills, two blocks). Outside hitter Maicon França and middle blocker Pietro Santos scored eight points each for Praia.

Men's Club World Championship - Match Schedule and Results

The destination of the second Pool A spot in the semifinals will also be determined on Friday, when second-placed Cucine Lube Civitanova, of Italy, which have four points, meet third-placed Al Ahly SC, of Egypt, which have three, at 20:30 local time (23:30 GMT). The winners will face Trentino for a spot in the gold medal match.

Quick links:
FIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championship 2024
VBTV
Volleyball World Facebook
Volleyball World X
Volleyball World Instagram
Volleyball World YouTube
Subscribe to Volleyball World's Newsletter