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For country<\/strong><\/p>\nAfter being instrumental in FIU\u2019s turnaround, the couple sought to do the same for Puerto Rico\u2019s women\u2019s national volleyball team.<\/p>\n
Each found success at the club level in Puerto Rico. Playing on separate teams, Rosa was named the Most Valuable Player of the Puerto Rican Women\u2019s Volleyball Superior League in 2012 and 2015, and Valentin won the award in 2014 while also winning Setter of the Year three consecutive seasons.<\/p>\n
But at the national level, the two had a chance to do something very special \u2013 and on the same side. Over the years Puerto Rico\u2019s women\u2019s team earned moderate success in regional and international tournaments but had never qualified for the Olympics.\u00a0Rosa and Valentin were on a mission to change that.<\/p>\n
\u201cVolleyball is a growing sport in Puerto Rico,\u201d Valentin says. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t get the attention of other sports like basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n
In late May, the team was fighting for the final available berth into the 12-team Olympic tournament in the upcoming 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Brazil. Their hopes came down to the final game of the World Olympic Qualification Tournament. Energized by playing at home in front of a capacity crowd of approximately 9,000 at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum in San Juan, the team swept opponent Kenya in three sets to secure a historic victory.<\/p>\n
Team captain Rosa pitched in seven points, including a key service ace late in the third set that helped push Puerto Rico closer to victory.<\/p>\n
With the small Caribbean island facing serious financial crisis\u2014the debt-ridden, self-governing U.S. territory has instituted a series of punishing austerity measures in recent years\u2014Rosa and Valentin and the rest of the women\u2019s national team provided their nation with a much-needed reason to celebrate.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring that week we brought everyone together,\u201d Rosa says. \u201cAs an athlete, this is all you want. You train all your life and everything you do is to make it to the Olympics. All these sacrifices are worth it when you qualify for the Olympics, to have the chance to represent your island in a big tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once they arrive in Brazil, the Puerto Ricans will have little time to revel in the moment. On Aug. 6, the day after the opening ceremony, they will play their first match against the team that the International Federation of Volleyball ranks No. 1 in the world: the United States.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re the underdogs and we want to surprise people,\u201d Valentin says, reflecting upon the chances of an upset. \u201cEither way, this is an experience we\u2019re going to share and cherish forever, something we\u2019ll tell our kids and grandkids.\u201d<\/p>\n