Lausanne, Switzerland, February 11, 2019 - Brazil's Evandro Guerra shone this weekend as he led defending champions Sada Cruzeiro of Contagem to a five-set win at the Riachao over Corinthians of Guarulhos to stay at the top of the standings in the Brazilian Superleague in one of a number of thrilling performances by star players across the world with their clubs, ahead of a highly-anticipated FIVB season.
The action-packed FIVB season kicks off in just over three months with the second edition of the FIVB Volleyball Nations League, followed by Olympic Qualification Tournaments for Tokyo 2020, Age-Group World Championships and the World Cups.
• Guerra, Sada Cruzeiro's 37-year-old opposite, scored 20 points (including three blocks and a 52% attacking efficiency) as his side held off Corinthians who had come back from two sets down to force a tie-break.
• Alan Souza, meanwhile, bagged 30 points for Sesi Sao Paulo in their 3-2 win over Volei Renata that keeps them within reach of the top of the Brazilian Superleague.
• In the Polish Superleague Lukasz Kaczmarek helped ZAKSA Kedzierzyn Kozle sweep Jastrzębski Wegiel in straight sets, to stay way ahead of the opposition in the standings. The 24-year-old opposite attacked for 62% and brought in a total of 17 points in the 3-0 win.
• With Wilfredo Leon scoring 26 points, Sir safety Conad Perugia came back from two sets down to beat Cucine Lube Civitanova 3-2 in the Italian Cup Final and successfully defend their title.
• Bulgaria's Tsvetan Sokolov was best scorer of the losers in the Italian Cup Final, contributing 25 points for Lube.
• Maxim Mikhaylov was again top scorer for Zenit Kazan in the Russian Superleague, as he led his team with 23 points though the table leaders suffered their first defeat of the season in the hands of Fakel Novy Urengoy. France's Earvin Ngapeth added another 16 and USA's Matt Anderson 13 for Zenit, who despite the loss remain at the top of the standings.
• In women's mid-week action, VakifBank Istanbul remained undefeated at the top of their pool in the European Champions League with the Netherlands' Lonneke Sloetjes scoring 19 points to help sweep Maritza Plovdiv of Bulgaria in straight sets, as China's Zhu Ting added 16 and USA's Kelsey Robinson 13.
• Cross-town rivals Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul also remained at the top of their pool with Korea's Kim Yeon-Koung scoring 22 points in their 3-0 win over Hameenlinna of Finland.
• Also mid-week in Brazil, Mara Leao, Lana Conceicao and Bruna Honorio each scored 12 points as Minas Tenis Clube of Belo Horizonte shut out Rio's Fluminense 3-0 to stay at the top of the Superleague standings.
• And in the Turkish league Serbia's Tijana Boskovic scored 25 points as Eczacibasi beat Karayollari in straight sets to stay top of the table.
Quick links - Volleyball:
FIVB.com - Volleyball Nations League
FIVB.com - Volleyball
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