After stumbling in their debut, the Brazilian teams Minas and Praia Clube won this Wednesday (18) the games in the second round of the group stage of the Women’s Volleyball Club World Cup, played at the Huanglong Sports Center, in Hangzhou (China). First to enter the court, the Minas team beat Zamaek Sporting Club (Egypt), African champion, by 3 sets to 0 (25/17, 25/21 and 25/14), in a Group A match, which also includes Tianjin (China) and Vero Volley Milano (Italy). Next, fellow countryman Praia Clube, a team from Uberlândia (MG), defeated the current Asian champion Red Rockets (Japan) by the same score, with splits of 25/17, 25/23 and 25/16, in a Group B game ( which has the Italian Conegliano and the Vietnamese Ninh Binh).
CLUB WORLD CHAMPS: PRAIA CLUBE 🇧🇷 3-0 🇯🇵 RED ROCKETS
With an outstanding performance from outside hitter Sofya Kuznetsova, who scored 23 points, Praia Clube swept past the Red Rockets in straight sets. The Brazilian team now faces winless Ninh Binh 🇻🇳 in the final round of pool… pic.twitter.com/2zSESqC7cY
— Volleyball World (@volleyballworld) December 18, 2024
Praia Clube can qualify for the semi-finals in the early hours of this Thursday (18th), if they beat Ninh Binh (Vietnam), who also suffered a setback in their debut and remain at zero in the table. The game will start at 4am (Brasília time). Only the top two in each bracket advance in the tournament. After today’s triumph (18), the Uberlândia team scored their first three points, as they had lost the first round to Conegliano (3 sets to 0), current leader of the World Cup, with six points. With the classification underway, the Italian team, twice champion of the Club World Cup (faces the two-time Japanese champion Red Rockets, on Friday (20), ending the group stage.
Minas faces a more complicated situation to advance in the tournament. With the three points, the team from Belo Horizonte is tied in second place in Group A with Vero Volley Milano, to whom they lost in their debut, by 3 sets to 0. The Brazilian team will face the Chinese Tianjin, who leads the key, next Friday (20), at 8:30 am. Before, on Thursday (19), Vero Volley Milano ends the group stage against Zamalek, who have not yet scored in the competition.
The Club World Cup brings together the continental champion and runner-up clubs in 2024. The biggest champions of the tournament are the Turkish clubs VakifBank (four titles) and Eczacıbaşı (three), both absent in this edition. The last of Brazil’s three World Cup titles was won in 2012 by Osasco.
Schedule
GROUP A
Thursday (19) – 8:30 am – Vero Volley Milano (Italy) x Zamalek Sporting Club (Egypt)
Friday (20) – 8:30 am: Tianjin (China) x Mines
GROUP B
Thursday (19) – 4am – Ninh Binh (Vietnam) x Beach Club
Friday (20) – 4am – Conegliano (Italy) x Red Rockets (Japan)
SEMIFINALS – Saturday (21)
4h – semi-final 1 (1st A x 2nd B)
8:30 am – semi-final 2 (1st B x 2nd A)
FINAL AND BRONZE DISPUTE – Sunday (22)
4am – match worth bronze
8:30 am – title decision
