Sada Cruzeiro suffers defeat by a score they haven’t seen in three years in the national league

Sada Cruzeiro’s adverse result last Sunday was, to say the least, atypical. The 3 x 0 defeat (25/19, 27/25 and 25/22) against Vôlei Renata, at home, marked the first time that the celestial team lost by that score in three years, in the men’s Superliga. The match against the Campinas team was the opening of the quarter-finals of the national league, in a series held in a ‘best of three’ format.

It was only in March 13, 2021 Raposa’s last defeat without winning sets, in the Superliga. The duel also in the first round of the quarterfinals. On that occasion, he played against Itapetininga, also at Ginásio do Riacho, in Contagem.

From the cast of the extinct ‘Itapê’ project, an athlete who was also on the court last weekend was pointer Adriano, from Vôlei Renata. The young Minas Gerais (22 years old) from the city of Ituiutaba was emerging, at the time, for national volleyball. Today, he has already accumulated calls for the Brazilian national team.

Used to playing aggressively and putting pressure on their opponents, the score was not repeated for Sada Cruzeiro for just over three years, until last Sunday, on national soil.

Coach Filipe Ferraz valued the opponent’s victory and congratulated them on their good performance. He also reinforced that the celestial team has already started preparing immediately for the second clash.

“They deserved the victory, they played better, they were more aggressive on the serve, on the counterattack (which was where we made a lot of mistakes). They shot more than 70% on the counterattack, and ours was below. Our blocking also didn’t work as well as it had been working. We couldn’t convert the balls that we cushioned into points, we faced blocking a few times, we made mistakes. Patience. It was an atypical game for us, and congratulations to Vôlei Renata, who played very well, served very well and managed to nullify our main plays. Now we have to study our opponents a lot, and see what we’re going to do there in Campinas. As I said, it’s another tournament. We have to forget the first phase, now we have to come in firm and strong, knowing our confidence and go in search of victory in the second game. Let’s go get it”, said coach Filipe Ferraz.

Now, Raposa goes all or nothing to reverse the disadvantage, tie the series and stay alive in the fight for a place in the semifinals. This time, the confrontation will be in Campinas, at the home of the opponents, who ranked in eighth place. If they win, it forces the third game, which returns to Contagem, on Tuesday (9/4).

The celestial team has already reversed its advantage in the knockout stage

In the 17/18 Superliga, the celestial team also found itself in a complicated situation in the knockout stage, which, at the time, was played in a best of five games format. Against the extinct Funvic Taubaté, they lost the first two matches, 3 x 0 and 3 x 1, but managed to win the next three games, reaching the final. In the decision, in a single game, they beat Sesi-SP by 3 sets to 2 to win their sixth national title.

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