Sada Cruzeiro conquered the sixth South American title in Belo Horizonte – Photos: Agência i7/Sada Cruzeiro

It’s the champion! It’s six times the champion! Less than 24 hours after playing an epic semifinal against Obras de San Juan, Sada Cruzeiro entered the court in the final against UPCN. And the team showed a lot of energy on the night of Saturday, March 2nd, beating the opponent by 3 sets to 1 and conquering the South American title. In the match at Arena Minas, the blue team played very well, with a powerful serve and attack, and scored partials 25/19, 25/18, 21/25 and 25/16. In addition to conquering the trophy, the cruzeirenses also won a place in the 2019 Club World Championship.

There were a lot of fans, who filled the Arena and pushed the team towards the historic victory, which raised the club to the position of the greatest winner of South American.

In the semifinal, Sada Cruzeiro also beat the Argentinean Obras de San Juan in a match that started on Friday night and ended on Saturday with an exciting 3-set-2 turn after losing 2-0. In the qualifying round Sada Cruzeiro won UPCN by 3 to 2 and the Peruvian Regatas Lima, by 3 to 0.

“We played a great match in the final and we got this very important title for the club. We must also highlight the great campaign that we made in the tournament, with great games. Such an achievement is not easy. Everyone   did a good job, they worked hard and we are South American champions for the sixth time, “said coach Marcelo Mendez.

Sada Cruzeiro also had three names in the dream team of the championship. Isac was the best middle blocker, Rodriguinho the best outside hitter, and American Taylor Sander was elected MVP.

Sander was one of the team’s key players and took the MVP award

“Today was incredible! This was a very difficult tournament with many complicated matches. And being able to overpass each of them, still managing to play so well in the final is very important for us at this stage of the season. I’m very happy”, Sander said.

Another player that celebrated a lot as well, was the young setter Fernando Cachopa. “I’m very happy with this title. It was a complicated tournament, with many games in just a few days and our team showed that it is growing. This title means a lot to me and to our group”, declared Cachopa.