Zenit Kazan, Trentino and Bolívar join Cruzeiro in Men’s Club World Champs elite four

Of those three, Trentino became the first team to qualify and they did it even before playing, because the first set won by Minas over Bolívar mathematically assured them a berth. Bolívar, without being able to surpass Trentino, still bounced back at the game and eventually won in four sets to await the result of archrivals UPCN, which could rule them out of the semifinals. The team from Argentina also gathered a tournament-high total of 14 blocking points.

Back into the semifinals drama, Trentino hurried to win the two sets they needed to confirm their stay on Pool B first slot. With Belgian Simon Van De Voorde at the helm and both Lanza and Stokr as good supporters, the Italian team placed 2-0 ahead and triggered Bolívar’s qualification. Afterwards, reserving some players for the upcoming two days, Trentino kept the pace until becoming triumphant in straight sets.

Much simpler was the outcome on Pool A, as Zenit Kazan defeated Taichung Bank and directly advanced to semifinals. European champions just had a minor shock at the beginning of the game, when Taichung held a well-earned lead, but it only lasted until the 10th point. Increasing the power of serves and spikes, Kazan steadily erased their rival until the final piece of the 3-0 win.

16 - Yoandy Leal Hidalgo of Sada Cruzeiro v Taichung Bank on October 18

24 - Nikolay Uchikov of UPCN v Bolívar on October 19

19 - Jan Stokr of Trentino v Bolívar on October 20

17 - Thiago Vanole of Minas Tenis Clube v Bolívar on October 21

24 - Nikolay Uchikov of UPCN v Bolívar on October 19

19 - Jan Stokr of Trentino v Bolívar on October 20

18 - Yoandy Leal Hidalgo of Sada Cruzeiro v Zenit Kazan on October 20

18 - Gustavo Guazzelli Bonatto of UPCN v Bolívar on October 19

17 - Thiago Vanole of Minas Tenis Clube v Bolívar on October 21

5 - Pablo Crer of Bolívar v Minas Tenis Clube on October 21

5 - Pablo Crer of Bolívar v UPCN on October 19

4 - Sebastián Solé of Trentino v Bolívar on October 20

4 - Martín Ramos of UPCN v Bolívar on October 19

3 - Robertlandy Simón Aties of Sada Cruzeiro v Tala’ea El-Geish on October 19

3 - Maxim Mikhaylov of Zenit Kazan v Taichung Bank on October 21

3 - Evandro Guerra of Sada Cruzeiro v Tala’ea El-Geish on October 19

3 - Jan Stokr of Trentino v Minas Tenis Clube on October 19

3 - William Arjona of Sada Cruzeiro v Taichung Bank on October 18

3 - Yoandy Leal Hidalgo of Sada Cruzeiro v Taichung Bank on October 18

14 - Bolívar v Minas Tenis Clube on October 21 

10 - Zenit Kazan v Tala’ea El-Geish on October 18

10 - Bolívar v UPCN on October 19

10 - Trentino v Bolívar on October 20

10 - Zenit Kazan v Sada Cruzeiro on October 20

11 - Sada Cruzeiro v Taichung Bank on October 18

8 - Sada Cruzeiro v Tala’ea El-Geish on October 19

8 - Bolívar v Minas Tenis Clube on October 21

8 - Zenit Kazan v Taichung Bank on October 21

6 - Sada Cruzeiro v Zenit Kazan on October 20

33-31 - Bolívar v UPCN on October 19

30-28 - Bolívar v UPCN on October 19

27-25 - Bolívar v UPCN on October 19

26-24 - Sada Cruzeiro v Zenit Kazan on October 20

26-24 - Trentino v UPCN on October 21

221 - Bolívar v UPCN on October 19

185 - Sada Cruzeiro v Zenit Kazan on October 20

180 - Taichung Bank v Tala’ea El-Geish on October 20

178 - Bolívar v Minas Tenis Clube on October 21

177 - Trentino v Bolívar on October 20