SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (May 23, 2016) – Former FIU Panthers, Yarimar Rosa (06-09) and Natalia Valentin (07-10) and the Puerto Rican national volleyball team qualified for its first ever Olympic Games appearance, after defeating Kenya (25-8, 25-23, 25-15) on Sunday.
The victory earns Puerto Rico the final spot in the 12-team Rio Games, joining Brazil, China, Serbia, Russia, Argentina, United States, Cameroon, Japan, Italy, Netherlands and South Korea.
The effort was led by Rosa, three-time AVCA First-Team All-American and Puerto Rican team captain, who had six kills on 11 attempts. Rosa, arguably FIU's best volleyball player in program history, ranks first in the Panther record books in kills (2,105) and attempts (4,592), second in career hitting percentage (.