Flamengo and Minas run away at the top of the Superliga standings

The two best-ranked teams in the 2025-2026 Brazilian Women's Superliga, SESC RJ Flamengo and Gerdau Minas increased their separation from the rest of the field during the third leg of the second round of the regular season.

Following victories over third-placed Dentil Praia Clube and sixth-placed Fluminense, respectively, the two sides continue to centralize the race for the top spot in the standings.

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With the third leg of the second round of the regular season completed on Saturday, Flamengo continue in first place, now with 37 points (13 wins, one loss), two ahead of Minas, who accumulate 12 positive results and two upsets. Third-placed Praia and fourth-placed Osasco São Cristovão Saúde both dropped points and lost ground to them, trailing with 20 points (14 wins, ten losses).

Coming from their first defeat in the season last Sunday, Flamengo went on the road on Friday to face Praia in Uberlândia and returned to their best form to triumph 3-1 (25-18, 25-21, 21-25, 25-20).

American outside hitter Simone Lee carried Flamengo's offense with 19 points (17 kills, two aces), earning her sixth MVP award in the season. Fellow outside hitter Karina Souza added 14, one more than Olympic medalist opposite Tainara Santos.

"I'm very pleased with how the team played today, coming from a defeat," Tainara remarked. "I think that, despite our previous result, the team continues to improve. We had a tough series of matches, and everyone got to help today. This is what we need to fight for our goals."

Praia, who entered Friday's encounter in an eight-match winning streak, had the top scorer in American outside hitter Payton Caffrey, who tallied 20 points (15 kills, five aces).

Minas sweep Fluminense

On Saturday, Minas faced Fluminense, the only team to have taken Flamengo down so far in the season, and showed a strong level of play to secure a 3-0 (25-19, 25-9, 25-21) road win in Rio de Janeiro.

Canadian outside hitter Hilary Johnson led the Belo Horizonte side offensively with 17 points (15 kills, one block, one ace), three more than Russian opposite Maria Khaletskaya. The match's MVP was Olympic medalist libero Nyeme Costa, who registered 15 digs and seven passes.

"The Superliga is very competitive this season, and we need to have the mindset we had today in every match," Nyeme said. "We've been preparing to be mentally strong and be able to play consistently, and today we managed to do it the entire time. We have some other tough matches coming up, and this victory means a lot to us."

Opposite Ariane Pinto was again Fluminense's leading scorer, accounting for 11 (ten kills, one ace) of the points produced by the home team.

Two other matches were held on Friday, with 11th-placed Tijuca Tênis Clube beating seventh-placed Sancor Maringá Vôlei 3-2 (18-25, 26-24, 25-19, 20-25, 15-12) and fifth-placed SESI Vôlei Bauru sweeping (25-22, 25-17, 25-23) tenth-placed Paulistano Barueri.

On Saturday, eighth-placed Batavo Mackenzie topped 12th-placed Renasce Sorocaba 3-2 (26-28, 21-25, 25-14, 25-8, 15-9) on the road and fourth-placed Osasco defeated ninth-placed Brasília Vôlei also in five sets (25-22, 25-19, 23-25, 20-25, 15-8).

Brazilian Women’s Superliga – Match Schedule & Results

Action will resume in the Superliga only on January 27, when two anticipated matches from the seventh leg of the second round of the regular season will be held. Earlier, between Friday and Saturday, the quarterfinals of the Brazilian Cup will take place.

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