By The Star Staff
As part of the commemoration of International Women’s Week, the New Progressive Party minority leader in the House of Representatives, Carlos “Johnny” Méndez Nuñez, paid tribute to Puerto Rico’s national women’s volleyball team and the tallest volleyball player in the world, Alba Hernández, for her career on and off the court.
“Every now and then an athlete arrives who transforms, not only the court or the park where she exhibits her talents, but also the community that saw her born; that is the case of our Alba Hernández,” Méndez said. “Today we pay this tribute to a great athlete, but a better human being, a volleyball player who never forgets where she came from and is always available to help everyone. Today we celebrate the career of Alba, the pride of Fajardo and all of Puerto Rico.”
Hernández was born on Oct. 3, 1994 in Fajardo. As the middle blocker on the Puerto Rico National Volleyball Team, she has been a fundamental piece in the squad’s recent triumphs. Alba is 6 feet, 8 inches (2.07 meters) tall, which makes her taller than towering New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge at 6-7 (2.01 meters).
Beyond being the tallest player on the national team, which implies a natural advantage, Hernández has a technical richness that allows her to get out of her defensive priorities to go looking for points in the net, where she is a constant threat, a lethal weapon, and an almost guaranteed point, Méndez noted.
Hernández has also played for Las Criollas de Caguas, Valencianas de Juncos, Rote Raben Vilsbiburg, Amazonas de Trujillo Alto, and Gigantes de Carolina, among others. Meanwhile, with the national team she has helped the squad win matches against Cameroon (3:0), Kenya (3:1), China (3:0), Brazil (3:0), Japan (3:0) and Argentina (3:1).
“I am sure that our Alba will continue to perform in her sport with the same love, sacrifice and professionalism that characterizes her, in order to continue reaping success,” Méndez said. “I also know that she is an example for many young people who have been writing their history in sports through her development.”