Melissa Vargas

Melissa Teresa Vargas Abreu (born 16 October 1999) is a Cuban-born Turkish volleyball player,[1] who plays for Fenerbahçe Opet and the Turkey women's national volleyball team.[2]

Melissa Vargas
Personal information
Full nameMelissa Teresa Vargas Abreu
NicknameVargas Airlines
Nationality Cuba  Turkey
Born (1999-10-16) 16 October 1999
Cienfuegos, Cuba
Height1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight76 kg (168 lb)
Spike326 cm (128 in)
Block315 cm (124 in)
College / UniversityUniversity of Cienfuegos
Volleyball information
PositionWing Spiker / Opposite Spiker
Current clubFenerbahçe Opet
Number4 (national team), 44 (club)
Career
YearsTeams
2011–2015
2015–2016
2017–2018
2018–2021
2021
2021–2022
2022–
2022–
Cienfuegos
Agel Prostějov
Volero Zürich
Fenerbahçe Opet
Tianjin Bohai Bank
Fenerbahçe Opet
Tianjin Bohai Bank
Fenerbahçe Opet
National team
2012–2017
2023–		 Cuba
Turkey
Honours
Women’s volleyball
Representing  Cuba
U23 Pan-American Cup
2014 IcaTeam
Representing  Turkey
FIVB World Cup
2023 TokyoTeam
FIVB Nations League
2023 ArlingtonTeam
European Championship
2023 Belgium/Italy/Estonia/GermanyTeam

She was a member of the Cuba women's national volleyball team and was part of the Cuban national team at the 2014 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship in Italy.[3] Since 2023, she has been playing in the Turkey women's national volleyball team.[4]

Personal life

Vargas was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba.[5] She began playing volleyball on the street at age six and joined her school's team at age eight.[6] In 2021, she acquired Turkish citizenship.[4]

International career

Cuba

Vargas played for the Cuban national team at the 2014 FIVB Women's World Championship, 2015 FIVB Women's World Cup, and in three editions of the FIVB World Grand Prix.[7]

In 2016, after suffering a shoulder injury while playing for a club team in the Czech Republic, Vargas returned to Cuba for treatment.[6] After finding Cuban facilities lacking, she sought treatment elsewhere, at which point the Cuban Federation imposed a four-year ban on Vargas for what they described as "insulting and undisciplined attitudes toward her country."[8]

Turkey

After acquiring Turkish citizenship in 2021, Vargas became eligible to represent Turkey in international competition in 2023, after playing for the Turkish volleyball club Fenerbahçe for five seasons. She debuted with the team at the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Women's Nations League, where she played in 11 matches and won gold with the team. She was named MVP of the competition.[7] At the 2023 Women's European Volleyball Championship, Vargas was once again named MVP after winning gold with Turkey.[9]

Awards

Club

International

Club

International

References
  1. "Kubanska zvezda dobila srpsko državljanstvo".
  2. Vargas set to join back to Fenerbahçe
  3. "Team Roster – Cuba". italy2014.fivb.org. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  4. "Filenin Yeni Sultanı: Melissa Vargas kimdir". En Son Haber (in Turkish). 1 June 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  5. "Melissa Vargas kimdir, kaç yaşında? Melissa Vargas hangi takımlarda oynadı?". Cumhuriyet (in Turkish). 7 March 2023. Retrieved 4 June 2023.
  6. Demirci, Gül (2023-09-04). "Who is Melissa Vargas? Who is » Expat Guide Turkey". Expat Guide Turkey. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  7. volleyballworld.com. "With Vargas and Santarelli, Türkiye start preparations for VNL 2023". volleyballworld.com. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  8. Agencies, Daily Sabah with (2023-09-04). "Melissa Vargas' road from Cuba to Turkish volleyball royalty". Daily Sabah. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  9. Mikkelsen, Sebastian; Aragón, Andrés (19 September 2023). "Volleyball Women's Paris 2024 Qualifier: How Cuban-born Melissa Vargas propelled Türkiye to instant success". Olympics.com. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
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