Santiago, Chile, August 12, 2017 - Brazil defeated Venezuela Friday evening in Santiago to claim their 31st title in the history of the South American Championship and secure their participation in the 2018 FIVB World Championship next year in Italy and Bulgaria.
Led by Wallace De Souza who scored 13 points and setter Bruno Rezende who was later named MVP of the tournament, Brazil dominated Venezuela 3-0 (25-21, 25-6, 21-18) in the final of the South American Championship.
Brazil have lost the continental title only once since the South American Championship was established in 1951 - and that was in the only edition in which they were absent, in 1964.
For Venezuela it was their first silver medal since 2003 and their ninth overall in the history of the competition.
The reigning Olympic champions will be taking part in the FIVB World Championship for the 17th time. They have not missed a single edition since their first appearance in 1956 and have won three gold and two silver medals in the process. They finished runners-up to Poland in the last edition in 2014.
One more ticket from South America for the 2018 World Championship, to be jointly hosted by Italy and Bulgaria, will be decided at the continental qualifiers, scheduled to start on August 31 in Argentina.
Argentina claimed the bronze medal at the South American championship Friday, after shutting out hosts Chile 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-21). It was the 6th bronze in the history of the competition for Argentina following a run of six straight silver since 2005.
In the Chilean city of Temuco, Colombia beat Uruguay 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-19) for 5th place and Peru overcame Paraguay 3-1 (23-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-21) for 7th place. It was Paraguay's first set in the competition.
All matches are available to watch on demand on the South American Confederation website, as are full results, standings and schedules.
Hosts Italy and Bulgaria and defending champions Poland have direct tickets to the FIVB's flagship tournament. France, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Russia, Serbia, Finland, and Belgium from Europe plus Japan and Australia from Asia have already secured their berths through continental qualifiers.
Quick links - Volleyball:
FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship 2018
FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship 2018
FIVB.com - Volleyball
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