In the quarterfinals, Brazil will meet France, which surprisingly eliminated Asian giants China in the Round of 16 on Sunday, also winning 3-1 (25-20, 27-25, 22-25, 25-20). Brazilians and French, who met one week ago in Chiang Mai during pool play, will face off on Thursday.
Star captain Gabriela ‘Gabi’ Guimarães carried the Brazilian offense in the decisive match against the Dominicans, producing a match-high 21 points (17 kills, three blocks, one ace), nine more than fellow outside hitter Júlia Bergmann, who registered nine kills, two blocks and one ace.
Opposite Rosamaria Montibeller, with 11 points (ten kills, one ace), and setter Roberta Ratzke, with four (three aces, one block), both had great performances off the bench for the team coached by José ‘Zé Roberto’ Guimarães.
“This is a really important victory for us,” Rosamaria said. “It’s our first elimination match in the tournament, and I’m proud of the work we did together to get the win. I thought both teams struggled a little bit in the first set, but we got in a much better position to win after our serving started to work better.”
