Lopez led Sada Cruzeiro against Vôlei Renata with 15 points
Defending champions Sada Cruzeiro Vôlei started their campaign at the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship on the right foot as the four-time world champions swept fellow Brazilians Vôlei Renata in their first Pool A match in Betim, Brazil, on Wednesday.
A third Brazilian team competing in the event, Itambé Minas also had a positive start in the tournament after they topped Iran’s Paykan Club in four sets at the Divino Braga Stadium in Pool B.
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Sada Cruzeiro and Minas, who will play Italians Sir Safety Susa Perugia and Trentino Itas respectively on Friday, could secure their spots in the semifinals on Thursday, depending on a combination of results on the second day of the event.
Playing in from of their home fans, Sada Cruzeiro had a strong first step to their world title defence with their three-set (25-20, 25-22, 25-22) victory over Vôlei Renata. The teams had played each other in the Brazilian Superliga ten days ago, when Sada Cruzeiro also won in straight sets.
The Most Valuable Player of last year’s Club World Championship, Sada Cruzeiro’s Cuban outside hitter Miguel Angel Lopez led the winners in points with 15 (13 kills, one block, one ace). Team captain and Rio 2016 Olympic champion opposite Wallace de Souza tallied 14 (13 kills, one ace). A new signing for the 2022-2023 club season, veteran middle blocker Lucas Saatkamp added another 11 with six kills, four blocks and one ace.
“A big part of our gameplan tonight was to serve well and we did that,” Wallace reflected. “We made some mistakes during the match, but Vôlei Renata have a good team and created problems for us as well. We knew that starting with a win would help us a lot in terms of advancing to the semifinals and this match gives us a lot of confidence, but we have a really tough match against Perugia coming up and we want to play well.”
Two members of the Brazilian national team that took bronze at the 2022 FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Championship, Felipe Roque and Adriano Xavier led Vôlei Renata’s scoring efforts. The 25-year-old opposite chipped in 13 points (nine kills, two blocks, two aces), while the 20-year-old outside hitter contributed seven (all in kills).
Minas’ players celebrate a point during their comeback against Paykan
In the opening match of the tournament, Minas came back from a…
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