Puerto Rico announces Olympic Squad

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, July 15, 2016 – The Puerto Rican Volleyball Federation announced its 12-player women' team that will make history as the first ever from the country to compete at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro from August 6 to 20.

The squad consists of outside hitters Aury Cruz, Stephanie Enright, Daly Santana and Yarimar Rosa, opposite Karina Ocasio, middle blockers Alexandra Oquendo, Lynda Morales and Diana Reyes, setters Vilmarie Mojica and Natalia Valentin and liberos Shara Venegas and Debora Seilhamer.

“It was a tough decision taken by the technical staff after a long and profound analysis,” said Elliot Matias, vice president of the FPV.

The squad will travel to Rio de Janeiro in late July and the High Performance Department of the Puerto Rican Olympic Committee is arranging a few friendly matches before the start of the Games.

Paulina Prieto and Shirley Ferrer, who were part of the team that won the silver medal at the recently concluded Pan American Cup, were left out of the roster.

“The group has worked very well over the summer and I want to thank both Paulina and Shirley for their commitment and professionalism,” Matias said. “I know that we can count on both of them in the future.”

Puerto Rico opens its Olympic journey playing the United States on August 6. The other teams of the pool are China, Serbia, Italy and the Netherlands.