Press release

Doha, Qatar, October 12, 2011 – Pool play concluded on Wednesday at the FIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championships with Trentino Diatec Trento (3-0) winning to capture Pool B in the men’s competition.

Based on the final day of competition, Thursday’s men's semifinal matches will have Pool A winner KS Jastrzebski Wegiel (3-0) challenging Pool B second-place Sesi Sao Paulo (2-1) at 3 p.m. followed by Pool B winner Trentino Diatec Trento versus Pool A second-place Zenit Kazan (2-1) at 7 p.m.

For additional information on the FIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championship, click here. For more informaton on the FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship, click here. For Daily Bulletins for the tournament, click here.

Jastrzebski Wegiel is led by Michal Lasko and his 49 points through pool play, good for fifth place overall in the tournament. The Polish club's captain Zbigniew Bartman ranks seventh in the tournament in Best Spiker with a 50.0 success percent, while Russell Holmes ranks third in Best Blocker with 0.73 blocks per set. Pawel Rusek is leading the Best Receiver category with a 71.2 efficiency percent.

Wallace Martins paces Sesi Sao Paulo with 39 points for sixth-place overall in scoring, while teammate Murilo Endres ranks eighth in scoring with 35 points. Endres is fifth in Best Spiker with a 51.6 success percent, while Martins is sixth with a 51.4 success percent. Sidnei dos Santos Junior holds a 0.73 block average for third place and is the sixth-best server with 0.45 aces per set. Sandro Barbalho is second in Best Setter with 5.55 running sets average.

Trentino Diatec Trento, which is looking to win their third consecutive FIVB Men's Club World Championship is led in scoring by captain Matey Kaziyski's 35 points for ninth place, followed by Osmany Juantorena's 34 points for 10th place. Kaziyski holds a tournament-best 58.7 spike percent, while Juantorena is second with a 57.5 success percent. The top three servers in the tournament are from Trentino, led by Kaziyski's 0.60 ace average followed by Emanuele Birarelli and Juantorena in second place with 0.50 per set. Andrea Bari is the third-leading receiver with a 64.00 efficiency percent.

Zenit Kazan is led by Maxim Mikhaylov and his tournament-leading 55 points. He also ranks fourth in Best Spiker with a 52.7 success percent and fourth in Best Server with a 0.45 ace average. Teammate Nikolay Apalikov also ranks fourth in Best Server with a 0.45 ace average. Zenit Kazan has the top two diggers in the tournament with Valerio Vermiglio and Alexey Obmochaev both averaging 3.82 digs per set. Interestingly, Vermiglio also ranks third in Best Setter with 5.27 running sets average.

Trentino Diatec Trento 3, Sesi Sao Paulo 1
Italy’s Trentino Diatec Trento came out on top of Pool B of the FIVB Men’s Club World Championship by defeating Brazil’s Sesi Sao Paulo 18-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-21 to conclude pool play Wednesday evening.

Trentino Diatec, which has won 13 consecutive matches in FIVB Men’s Club World Championship matches dating back to 2009, are attempting to win their third straight FIVB Men’s Club World Championship.

Trentino Diatec was led by Tsvetan Sokolov’s 18 points, while Osmany Juantorena contributed 11 points. Sidnei dos Santos Junior was credited with 14 points to lead Sesi Sao Paulo, while Murilo Endres added 12 points. Sesi Sao Paulo held advantages in attacks points (48-46) and aces (9-5), but 32 errors hurt in the end. Trentino Diatec held a slim 10-9 margin in blocks.

“It was a difficult game,” Trentino Diatec Trento captain Matey Kaziyski said. “We started with a completely different team than we normally do, but we were able to turn these difficulties into our advantages. Even though tomorrow's match is more important and we were thinking of our opponents, we did pay enough attention to today's match.”

“Today's match was a little strange,” Sesi Sao Paulo captain Murilo Endres said. “The first set we played quite well, but couldn't find the right rhythm for the remaining sets. The Italians have a very strong team, which can definitely make the difference.”

FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship Highlights

Top Scorers by Day
October 8: 30 – Christan Pampel (Al-Arabi Doha) vs. Al-Ahly Cairo
October 9: 18 – Ahmed Mohamed (Al-Ahly Cairo) vs. Trentino Diatec Trento
October 10: 27 – Maxim Mikyahlov (Zenit Kazan) vs. KS Jastrzebski Wegiel
October 11: 17 – Michal Lasko (KS Jastrzebski Wegiel) vs. Trinity Western Spartans Vancouver
October 12: 18 – Tsvetan Tzourits (Trentino Diatec Trento) vs. Sesi Sao Paulo

Top Scoring Performances
30 – Christian Pampel (Al-Arabi Doha) vs. Al-Ahly Cairo on Oct. 8
27 – Maxim Mikyahlov (Zenit Kazan) vs. KS Jastrzebski Wegiel on Oct. 10
26 – Ahmed Abdelhay (Al-Ahly Cairo) vs. Al-Arabi Doha on Oct. 8
26 – Rudy Verhoeff (Trinity Western Spartans Vancouver) vs. Paykan Tehran on Oct. 10

Top Blocking Performances
7 – Mohamed Ketat (Al-Ahly Cairo) vs. Al-Arabi Doha on Oct. 8
7 – Daniel Jansen van Doorn (Trinity Western Spartans Vancouver) vs. Paykan Tehran on Oct. 10
7 – Lucas Van Berkel (Trinity Western Spartans Vancouver) vs. Paykan Tehran on Oct. 10
6 – Lukasz Kadziewicz (Al-Arabi Doha) vs. Al-Ahly Cairo on Oct. 8
6 – Lukasz Kadziewicz (Al-Arabi Doha) vs. Sesi Sao Paulo on Oct. 9

Top Service Ace Performances
5 – Nikolay Apalikov (Zenit Kazan) vs. Trinity Western Vancouver on Oct. 8
4 – Emanuele Birarelli (Trentino Diatec Trento) vs. Al-Arabi Doha on Oct. 11
3 – Maxim Mikhaylov (Zenit Kazan) vs. Trinity Western Vancouver on Oct. 8
3 – Sidnei dos Santos Junior (Sesi Sao Paulo) vs. Trentino Diatec Trento on Oct. 12

Highest Set Score
31-19 – Al-Ahly Cairo def. Al-Arabi Doha on Oct. 8 (set 2)
27-25 – Sesi Sao Paulo def. Al-Ahly Cairo on Oct. 10 (set 2)
26-24 – Al-Arabi Doha def. Al-Ahly Cairo on Oct. 8 (set 3)
26-24 – Zenit Kazan def. Paykan Tehran on Oct. 9 (set 1)

Highest Scoring Matches
231 – Al-Arabi Doha def. Al-Ahly Cairo 25-23, 29-31, 26-24, 21-25, 15-12 on Oct. 8
207 – KS Jastrzebski Wegiel def. Zenit Kazan 25-22, 25-17, 11-25, 21-25, 19-17 on Oct. 10
197 – Trinity Western Spartans Vancouver def. Paykan Tehran 25-23, 18-25, 17-25, 25-18, 15-6 on Oct. 10
185 – Trentino Diatec Trento def. Sesi Sao Paulo 18-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-21 on Oct. 12
177 – Sesi Sao Paulo def. Al-Ahly Cairo 25-18, 27-25, 18-25, 25-14