FAMU Volleyball Features World Championships Trio

Valentina Carrasco
Freshman - Libero

TALLAHASSEE, Florida – With the 2015 regular season opener just a week away, the Florida A&M University Women’s Volleyball program is excited about this year’s prospects thanks to a trio of players who gained some valuable international playing experience this summer.

Two members of the trio are returning veterans: 2015 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year Pamela Soriano, a 5-10 sophomore outside hitter from the Dominican Republic, and 6-3 senior middle blocker Ginna Lopez-Chavez, from Lima, Peru, who was a preseason All-MEAC pick, and a two-time first team All-MEAC selection (2013, 2014), while the third is incoming freshman libero
Valentina Carrasco from Lima, Peru

FAMU head coach Tanio “Tony” Trifonov was excited for his players and more excited for their potential impact on the 2015 Rattler Volleyball team.

“This has been a great experience for our players, and hopefully they will provide the leadership that will help us elevate our play this year through the MEAC Tournament and potentially into the NCAA Tournament as well,” Trifonov said.




World Under 23 Championships duo

The returning FAMU duo of Soriano and Lopez-Chavez played in the FIVB (International Federation for Volleyball) Under 23 World Volleyball Championships in Turkey, which concluded this week, with Soriano, as a member of the bronze medal-winning Dominican Republic National team, and Lopez-Chavez a member of the Peruvian National team.

• Soriano’s Dominican team dropped a five-set heartbreaker in the semifinals to eventual world champion Brazil, but rallied literally and figuratively in the third place match, coming from two sets down to overtake Japan, 3-2 (21-25, 17-25, 25-21, 25-16, 15-11) for the bronze.
•  Lopez-Chavez’s Peruvian team finished tied for ninth (9th), but individually, she had an outstanding tournament, finishing #10 overall in blocks among all players, averaging 0.56 blocks per set.

The Under 23 World Championships was the second summer event for Lopez-Chavez, who played for Peru in the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto in July, along with a FAMU Volleyball alum, libero Susan Egoavil.

FAMU freshman in Under 18 Championships

Speaking of the libero position, FAMU’s third international summer competitor was incoming freshman Valentina Carrasco, another in the long line of Lima, Peru natives to wear the Orange and Green.

Carrasco played in the FIVB Under 18 World Championships for Peru, finishing the event ranked as the #5 libero overall in the event.

All three players will be on campus by Sunday, just in time for the start of the 2015 Fall Semester on Monday, August 24, and they’ll have a few days of practice to gear up for next Friday’s season opener in the University of Miami Tournament against Kansas State at 5:00 p.m.

They will face host Miami (12:30 p.m.) and Illinois State (5:30 p.m.) on Saturday, August 29.

FAMU opens at home Friday, September 11 against Xavier (Ohio) University in the FAMU-FSU Tournament at 7:00 p.m. in the Al Lawson Center.

For more information on the FAMU Volleyball Team and all other Rattler sports teams, go to www.FAMUAthletics.com.

COURTESY FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION