The Belo Horizonte side has a one-point gap to Flamengo, but can be passed on Tuesday
Published 04:00, 06 Dec 2025
Minas showed strength to beat Osasco on road (Photo: Carolina Oliveira/Osasco)
Gerdau Minas managed to continue at the top of the 2025-2026 Brazilian Women's Superliga standings for yet another week, as the ninth leg of the tournament's regular season came to an end on Friday.
With both Minas and second-placed SESC RJ Flamengo needing five sets to win their matches, nothing changed at the top of the standings, with only two rounds yet to be played before the halfway point of the regular season is reached.
After the conclusion of the ninth leg, Minas rank first with 23 points (eight wins, one loss), closely followed by Flamengo, who got to 22 (eight wins). The Rio de Janeiro side, however, has one game in hand, and can get to first place as soon as Tuesday, when they face rivals Fluminense in a postponed match of the second leg.
This week, Minas played first, on Thursday, and even on the road, defeated defending champions and third-placed Osasco São Cristovão Saúde 3-2 (25-21, 24-26, 25-21, 14-25, 15-10) to return to winning ways after losing to Flamengo last week.
Canadian national team outside hitter Hilary Johnson led Minas to victory with a fantastic 25-point (22 kills, three blocks) performance and was given the match's MVP award. Middle blocker Júlia Kudiess and Thaisa Menezes added 13 and 12, respectively.
"We knew it was going to be a challenging match because they're a very talented team," Johnson reflected. "I thought we had ups and downs, as every team does, but we never gave up. We had some fans on the stands too, and they gave us some energy. I'm proud of the team and happy to have helped."
Osasco's international players also had solid performances, with Argentine opposite Bianca Cugno leading the team with 22 points (19 kills, two blocks, one ace) and American outside hitter Caitie Bird contributing 12 (nine kills, three blocks).
On Friday, Flamengo were pushed to five sets for a second-straight time, but again came out on top, beating SESI Vôlei Bauru 3-2 (25-22, 21-25, 22-25, 25-21, 15-13) on the road to continue undefeated.
American outside hitter Simone Lee was selected as the match's MVP after she registered a match-high 32 points (29 kills, two blocks, one ace). Olympic medalist opposite Tainara Santos tallied 16 for Flamengo, with 13 kills and three blocks.
"Every team that will play against us wants to bring their best, and it's really special when we can come out and fight really strong together," Lee remarked. "SESI is such a great team, and it's really cool to get to test ourselves in a five-set match again."
Opposite Bruna Moraes led SESI with 23 points (20 kills, two blocks, one ace), three more than Venezuelan outside hitter Roslandy Acosta.
Three more matches were held during the ninth leg this week, and they had seventh-placed Paulistano Barueri beating 11th-placed Tijuca Tênis Clube 3-2 (25-20, 25-21, 23-25, 19-25, 15-9) on Thursday and eighth-placed Brasília Vôlei sweeping (28-26, 25-18, 25-17) tenth-placed Batavo Mackenzie and ninth-placed Sancor Maringá Vôlei defeating 12th-placed Renasce Sorocaba 3-1 (20-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-18) on Friday.
Brazilian Women’s Superliga – Match Schedule & Results
With Osasco and Dentil Praia Clube out as they compete at the 2025 FIVB Women's Volleyball Club World Championship, the tenth leg will be held next week, between Thursday and Monday.
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