Semifinals set in Brazil Superleague

Lausanne, Switzerland, March 26, 2017 - Ellen Braga, who came on off the bench in the first two sets and started in the other two, lifted Dentil Praia Clube Uberlandia to a deciding win over Terracap BRB Brasilia 3-1 (22-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-14) to complete the Brazil women's Superleague semifinalists.



Ellen emerged second best scorer of the game with 17 points (including 15/25 for 60% in attacking), after teammate Alix Klineman of USA bagged 19, to earn the MVP award, as Praia Clube clinched the best-of-three quarterfinal series 2-1 before a sellout home crowd of 2000. It is the second time in their history that Praia Clube make the Superleague semifinals.

Earlier in the week Gabi Guimaraes had won the MVP of the game award a second time in as many quarterfinal matches as she led defending champions Rexona Sesc Rio de Janeiro to a 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-22) sweep of Pinheiros Sao Paolo to take that series 2-0.



Ana Beatriz Corrrea and Tandara Caixeta shared top scoring honours for Volei Nestle, as the Osasco club completed back-to-back wins over Fluminense in Rio de Janeiro with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-14, 25-13) sweep that also saw them through to the semifinals. Ana Beatriz was also voted MVP of the game.

And in Bauru, Camponesa Minas of Belo Horizonte scored an away win over Genter Volei 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 25-17) with USA's Destinee Hooker scoring 20 points and picking up the MVP award, for yet another ticket to the semifinals.

The semifinals of the Brazil Superleague are now set up as follows:
- Rexona Sesc Rio de Janeiro v Camponesa Minas Belo Horizonte
- Volei Nestle Osasco v Dentil Praia Clube Uberlandia

Dinamo Moscow on track in Russia

Defending champions Dinamo Moscow became the first team to advance to the final of the Russian Superleague, after a hard-fought 3-1 (25-16, 23-25, 25-15, 25-21) win in Krasnoyarsk over Yenisei Sunday morning to complete their semifinal series 2-0.

But they will have to wait until 8 April to find out their opponent, after Dinamo Kazan replied in kind to Uralochka NTMK with a 3-2 (19-25, 27-29, 25-19, 25-20, 15-13) away win in Ekaterinburg that tied that best-of-three semifinal series at 1-1. The first match between the two sides had also been a five-set comeback away win with Uralochka coming back from from two sets down in Kazan.



The two teams return to Kazan on 8 April to decide the second finalist of the Russian Superleague.

Regular Season wraps up in Italy
In Italy, meanwhile, the Regular Season wrapped up this weekend, with Imoco Volley Conegliano and reigning European champions Pomi Casalmaggiore officially taking the pole positions ahead of the Playoffs.



Both had secured the top two spots in the table before the last round of play and now have to wait for the results of 7-10 Playoffs to find out their opponents in the quarterfinals.

Serena Ortolani scored 14 points and Anna Danesi 12 on the closing day of the Regular Season to lead Conegliano to their 3-1 (25-19, 25-23, 20-25, 25-15) win in Bergamo over Foppapedretti, while 17 points from Sanja Malagurski and 16 from Jelena Nikolic helped Metalleghe Montichiari hand Pomi their sixth defeat of the season 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-17).

Italian League quarterfinals, starting on 7 April:
- Il Bisonte Florence or Sudtirol Bolzano v Imoco Volley Conegliano
- Liu Jo Nordmeccanica Modena v Foppapedretti Bergamo
- Saguella Team Monza or Unet Yamamay Busto Arsizio v Pomi Casalmaggiore
- Savino Del Bene Scandicci v Igor Gorgonzola Novara

Quarterfinals set in Turkey
Quarterfinals have also been set up in Turkey after the conclusion there of the Regular Season, where the four Istanbul sides claimed the top positions in the table setting up potential all-Istanbul semifinals.

Playing with reserves and with Melis Durul emerging top scorer on 16 points, VakifBank Istanbul, the 2016 FIVB Club World Championship bronze medallists, swept Bursa Buyuksehir 3-0 (25-23, 27-25, 25-22) to officially finish top of the standings.



Home-and-away Turkish League quartefinals (with deciding 'golden set' if necessary), starting midweek:
- Besiktas Istanbul v VakifBank Istanbul
- Canakkale Belediyespor v Eczacibasi VitrA Istanbul
- Halkbank Ankara v Fenerbahce Istanbul
- Bursa Buyuksehir v Galatasaray Istanbul

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