Martínez sisters together at Praia Clube

UBERLANDIA, Brazil, August 28, 2020 – Cornerstones of the Dominican Republic’s national team, the Martinez sisters Brayelin and Jineiry will extend their partnership to the club level during the 2020-2021 season by playing for Brazil’s Dentil Praia Clube.

The 23-year-old Brayelin will be with the Uberlandia-based side for a second-straight season as she was part of their roster during the 2019-2020 season, which was interrupted due to the coronavirus pandemic.  

The 2.01m-tall opposite got to win three trophies with the team in the shortened season (the Brazilian SuperCup, the Minas Gerais State Championship and the Minas x Rio Challenge) and finished second at the South American Club Championship. The team also finished sixth at the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Women’s Club World Championship. 

For the 1.90m-tall Jineiry, however, it will be the first time she plays in Brazil after the 22-year-old middle-blocker had stints in the Dominican Republic, France and Turkey.  

The sisters have been teammates at the club level on three other occasions as they shared the courts for their home side Mirador in 2013/2014 and 2015/2016 and also in Turkey, when they played for Aydin Belediyespor during the 2018-2019 season. 

“I’m very excited to play for Praia Clube for another season,” Brayelin said in a video released by the club. “And this season will be even more special as I’ll get to share the court with my sister.” 

Despite their young age, the Martinez sisters have already made a big impact on the Dominican national team, especially at the youth level, as they were both part of the squads that won the 2015 FIVB Volleyball U20 World Championship in 2015 and took silver and bronze at the 2013 and 2015 editions of the U23 World Championships. 

At the senior level, the sisters, who have been playing together on the national team since 2015, have helped the Dominicans qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and led the team to success at the 2019 Pan-American Games, when they took gold.

The 2020-2021 edition of the Brazilian Superliga will feature another member of the Dominican national team as star libero Brenda Castillo has returned to SESI Bauru. Outside hitter Yonkaira Pena made the opposite move, though, and after three years with SESC has recently joined Indonesia’s Jakarta Pertamina Energi.