Lausanne, Switzerland, July 9, 2015 - You sometimes forget that this young woman is just 15 years of age. Melissa Teresa Vargas Abreu is regularly the highest scoring player on Cuba's national volleyball team.
In the first preliminary tournament of this year's World Grand Prix, she picked up 48 points in three matches. Before that, in the Pan American Cup, she was the leading scorer of the tournament with 144 points – the second all-time best behind Puerto Rican Aury Cruz’s 151. The teenager, who was first selected for the national team at the age of 13, was also named best server of the tournament.
It's logical that this prompts memories of her great predecessors in Cuba. Of Regla Torres, for example, who at the age of 17 in 1992 was the youngest volleyball player to date ever to win the gold medal at the Olympic Games. Two further gold medals followed with the legendary “Morenas del Caribe” team in 1996 and 2000, and two World Championship titles in 1994 and 1998. Torres was crowned best female volleyball player of the 20th century in 2000.
In recent years, Torres has intermittently been part of the Cuban national team's coaching staff, which is where she has come into contact with the promising new star Vargas. “In Cuba we have very young athletes, but this is the first time in recent years that we have had such a good young player,” said Torres full of praise in an interview, and was reminded of the start of her great career. “I was the same as Melissa! She doesn’t say too much because that's the way she is, but inside she is strong. She has a strong mind.”
Despite the praise of an international volleyball star and her magnificent achievements for her age, Melissa Vargas by no means has her head in the clouds. “I felt good, at times a little nervous because I didn't want to make mistakes, and that sometimes happens,” said Vargas, after helping Cuba qualify for the World Cup as an outstanding player. She is the great hope for a new golden age in her home country and is set to guide the young team to new successes in the future. Naturally her biggest idol is one of the glamorous players of the past: prodigy Mireya Luis.
“I hope to be like Mireya, I really like her,” said Vargas. The 15-year-old even has a physical advantage over her idol: Measuring in at 1.84 metres, she is eight centimetres taller than Mireya Luis. However, she made up for her comparatively short height for an attacking player with her phenomenal jumping power: She reached a serving height of 3.38 metres, which sees her hold a record in relation to her height. Melissa Vargas is also already feared – for her cracking attacks and her rocket-like serves in particular. Australia coach Mark Barnard praised this specific quality after the 0-3 defeat in the preliminary round of the FIVB World Grand Prix: “It really is a very strong service.”
Youngster Vargas already made a strong impression at the FIVB World Grand Prix last year.
Scoring 67 points in 16 sets, she also made her mark in the 2014 World Championships. Even though Cuba didn't manage to get a win in the five matches in the first round. “It was definitely a great experience, even though we did not manage to go through to the second round or to win any matches. We still seized the opportunity to learn and improve,” she said.
Vargas, who was born in the Cienfuegos province, took up volleyball at the age of eight, after being scouted at a sports club in Cuba and recruited to volleyball. Her exceptional talent soon became clear, which has now attracted global attention. The Cuban Volleyball Federation (FCV) is currently in discussions with president Ariel Sainz regarding the inquiry of a top foreign team that would like to sign Vargas. Last year Cuban authorities authorized its volleyball players to be signed by professional clubs abroad. These measures mark the island's return to professional sport, which was abolished in 1961.
One way or another, Melissa Vargas will focus on what makes her happy; playing volleyball. She knows exactly what it takes to have a career like that of her idol Mireya Luis. “I hope I will become a great volleyball player if I train hard.”