Brazilian teams Gerdau Minas Belo Horizonte and Dentil Praia Clube Uberlandia will return to the FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship together for the sixth consecutive time, after participating in 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Once again, the two clubs reconfirmed their continental domination by reaching the South American Women’s Club Championship final, this time decided in favour of Minas after an epic nail-biting drama in Bauru, Brazil on Sunday.
It was the sixth consecutive continental club final between the two Brazilian powerhouses, with Minas defeating their archrivals for the fourth time to claim their fifth overall South American crown. At the Club World Championships, Minas have made it to the podium twice, with silver medals in 1992 and 2018, while Praia have never reached the podium, finishing fourth in two editions, including the most recent one in 2023.
The 2024 South American Women’s Club Championship took place over the past five days in the city of Bauru in southern Brazil with the participation of six teams from four different countries. Both finalists reached the gold medal showdown undefeated. Defending champions Praia did not even drop a single set on the way to final. In the championship match, the squad from Uberlandia won the first two sets, before Minas fought back, mounting an amazing comeback to a 3-2 (24-26, 16-25, 25-19, 25-22, 15-11) victory, led by star middle blocker Thaisa Menezes with a match-high 20 points.
