The Cuban player Melissa Vargas She was called up for the first time to be part of the Turkish women's national volleyball team.
The announcement was made as part of the anticipated selection of coach Daniele Santarelli, who called up a total of 30 players for the season, which will begin in less than a month with the Volleyball Nations Leaguand 2023.
Vargas, who has been playing for Turkish clubs since 2018 after being sanctioned by the Cuban Volleyball Federation, is now eligible to represent the national team after obtaining Turkish citizenship in 2021.
His inclusion in the national team has been highly anticipated and is expected to add depth to the team in their quest to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The Cuban was a member of several clubs such as Agel Prostejov, in the Czech Republic, and the Fenerbahçe Opet, Turkey where he has won several awards, including Best Server in the Chinese League and the Champions League. In 2021, he also played for the Porcelana Banco Tianjin Bohai team before returning to Fenerbahçe Opet.
In addition to the inclusion of Vargas, Santarelli has brought back some familiar faces to the Turkish national team who were not used by his predecessor Giovanni Guidetti in recent years. Among them are middle blockers Kübra Akman and Aslı Kalaç, libero Gizem Örge and attacker Neriman Özsoy.
Santarelli said that the Volleyball Nations League 2023 will be a great opportunity to meet all the players and that he hopes to use more than 20 of them during the tournament.
The Turkish team will start the VNL at home, facing Korea, Serbia, Italy and the United States in Antalya from May 30 to June 4. They will also compete in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament and the European Championship this year.
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