Sada Cruzeiro defeated Fiat/Gerdau/Minas 3-1 in the big derby of the 19th round of the 2021/22 Brazilian Men’s Volleyball Championship and made the battle for the top spot in the regular season very interesting.
With a 3-1 victory over the leader Minas in the 19th round of the 2021/22 Men’s Superliga, Cruzeiro reached 50 points and are now 2 points behind the rival they beat in the final stretch of the regular season. It was quite heated ‘clássico mineiro’. Minas started the match victoriously (1-0), but allowed the comeback to Cruzeiro, seeing the Contagem side approaching the fight for the first place. Minas were weakened for the match as their starting setter William Arjona was unable to play as he suffered a cut on his hand in an accident at home. Also, Leandro Vissotto played the first set only and then remained on the bench for the remainder of the game.
In the 4th set, Cruzeiro’s Fernando Kreling ‘Cachopa’ and Minas’ Henrique Honorato got red cards for complaining about the referee’s decisions. At Cruzeiro’s 12th point in the 4th set, the atmosphere on the court heated up on the request for a video check of a possible touch on the net. The teams’ benches began to argue, with the second referee having to contain the tempers. And again – two red cards were given, one for each side.
Wallace Souza top-scored the winning side with 17 points. Both teams will now focus on the South American Club Championship, which will start in 3 days and in which Cruzeiro will be the host.
2021/22 Men’s Superliga – regular season, Round 19:
