Melissa Vargas achieves a record in Turkey in Paris that no other Cuban volleyball player has reached.

The Cuban Melissa Vargas, who competes with the Turkey team at the Paris Olympics, had an impressive performance this Monday in the match against the Netherlands, which the Turkish team won with a score of 3 sets to 2.

In the match, which the Turks won in a tie break, Vargas became the first Cuban volleyball player to score 30 points or more in an Olympic Games match, as reported by sports journalist Francys Romero.

The sports journalist specified that Vargas, 24, is the thirteenth volleyball player in the world to reach that figure in an Olympic match.

Among the Cuban women, the volleyball player who had scored the most points in an official Olympic Games match so far was Rosir Calderón (26), a record set on August 13, 2008, at the Beijing Olympics, as specified by Romero.

Difficult match for Turkey

This Monday, Turkey came back in a difficult match after losing the first two sets, with Melissa playing a key role in the comeback.

The Cuban scored 29 of her points in attack, while in blocking she added one more to decisively contribute to the Turkish victory.

The Cuban scored six points in the first set and five in the second. In the third, she added seven points, and in the fourth, she reached nine more, to which she added three in the tie break.

Melissa Vargas under another flag

In just six years, Melissa Vargas -who has lived and played in Turkey since 2018- went from being sanctioned by the sports federation of Cuba to being chosen as the best player in the world in 2023.

Originally from Cienfuegos, the young athlete had a great 2023, with victories in the Tianjin club in the Chinese Super League and in Fenerbahçe of the Turkish League.

In addition, he won a gold medal and the MVP award in the Nations League, and achieved the same results in the European Championship, both times with Turkey.

Now the national team, which is attending the Olympic Games for the third time, hopes that the Cuban can finally bring them to the podium.

Vargas was called up to join the team last year, a decision that had been eagerly awaited since she obtained Turkish citizenship in 2021.

Since their incorporation, the so-called "Sultanas de la Red" began to improve their level of play, especially in offense.

Vargas made her debut with the Cuba team at just 13 years old, in 2013. In 2014, she was named the standout player of the Central American and Caribbean Games.

At only 15 years old, the player received permission to play with the Czech Republic team, VK Prostejov.

In 2016, she was sanctioned by the Cuban authorities after suffering an injury to her shoulder that required her to undergo surgery. Her parents disagreed with the recovery plan proposed by the Federation at the National Volleyball School and took her back to Cienfuegos. Then the sports authorities demoted her, which prevented her from competing in international tournaments.

Subsequently, the Cuban received another sanction from the Cuban Volleyball Federation, which imposed a four-year ban on competing after signing with the Swiss club Volero without the knowledge of the Cuban authorities.