Uberlandia, Brazil, November 2, 2019 – About a month before the 2019 FIVB Club World Championship, the two Brazilian participants battled it out for their domestic Super Cup trophy, with Dentil/Praia Clube Uberlandia pleasing the home crowd at the Sabiazinho with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-19) victory over national champions and cup-holders Itambe Minas Belo Horizonte.
At the Club World Championship in Shaoxing, China, Dentil/Praia, who challenged Minas in both domestic finals earlier this year, will play with a wild card in Pool B against reigning world champions VakifBank Istanbul of Turkey, Tianjin Bohai Bank of China and European club champions Igor Gorgonzola Novara of Italy. At the same time, South American club champions Itambe Minas will race with hosts Guangdong Evergrande Guangzhou, Turkey’s Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul and Italy’s Imoco Volley Conegliano in Pool A. The elite club competition will take place from December 3 through 8. Both Brazilian teams reached the semifinals of last year’s edition, also held in Shaoxing, with Minas snatching the silver and Praia finishing fourth.
Dentil/Praia’s new addition Priscila Daroit was the best scorer of Friday’s match with Itambe Minas. The Brazilian outside hitter contributed 14 points towards her club’s second consecutive Super Cup trophy. Another newcomer to the club, experienced 40-year-old middle blocker Walewska Oliveira, added another 13, while Dominican opposite Brayelin Martinez opened the account for her new team with 11 points. 38-year-old Brazilian middle blocker Caroline Gattaz scored 13 times to top the chart on Itambe Minas’s side.
Dentil/Praia’s coach Paulo Coco started the match with Ananda Marinho, Brayelin Martinez, Fernanda Garay, Priscila Daroit, Walewska Oliveira, Francynne Jacintho and Lais Vasques, and also used Claudia Bueno, Nicole Fawcett and Angelica Malinverno, while Suelen Pinto, Monique Pavao and Ana Carolina Silva are out recovering from injuries. On the opponents’ side, coach Nicola Negro opted for Macris Carneiro, Bruna Honorio, Deja McClendon, Kasiely Clemente, Caroline Gattaz, Thaísa Menezes and Leia Silva in the starting seven, and Bruna Costa, Lana Conceicao and Sheilla Castro as substitutions, but could not count on injured Venezuelan striker Roslandy Acosta.
Dentil/Praia players celebrate a point during their Super Cup win over Itambe Minas (photo: praiaclube.org.br)
“I am very happy to have returned to Dentil/Praia. I had a dream to return to this club,” Daroit said after the match. “The whole team is to be congratulated. We knew this game would be difficult, but we showed that we are a strong team. Regardless of who we play, we can't let the pace drop.”
“It's great to start the season with a victory, but we have a long way to go ahead of us. This was just one of the championships we are going to participate in, so we need to keep our feet on the ground. We still have a lot to improve. We have some injured players and we will need to get them back. This is a long season and all players will be important,” commented captain Oliveira.
“Our team has to find its identity and that takes time, which we haven't had yet. So we have to work hard on a daily basis,” Macris Carneiro, setter of Itambe Minas, pointed out. “The two teams know each other well, although they have different line-ups now. We need to improve individually, be more aggressive and make use of all available players. It's about patience.”