After years of struggling to keep pace with the top girls volleyball programs in Seminole county, the Lyman Greyhounds are running away from the competition this season. One of the main reasons is outside hitter Valeria Rosado. Spectrum sports 360’s Despina Barton explains how Rosado is making an impact in the Athlete of the Week:
Valeria Rosado has been playing volleyball since she was five years-old.
“I moved all around the court. When I was 12, that is when I got outside,” Rosado explained of playing every position on the volleyball court.
The Lyman junior outside hitter is helping to elevate the Greyhound’s volleyball program with a combination of power and instincts.
“She can put a ball away from anywhere on the court,” Lyman Head Coach Robert Drake said. “But then it’s not always a kill –it’s the smart volleyball. She’ll look at a defense and say ok, now I have a roll shot here or a role shot there
Rosado initially made her way to Central Florida after being displaced by Hurricane Maria. A year and half later the Puerto Rican native is second in the state in recorded kills.
This past week at the Swing for a Cure Volleyball Tournament she led her team with 64 kills and five aces as the Greyhounds didn’t drop a single set to claim the premiere division gold bracket.
“She averaged 14, 14, 14, 14 and 8 so she showed me some consistency,” Drake added. “There had been some games where she was up and down but she showed me when it’s time to do something she’s going to be consistently that person to put the ball away.”
Rosado is the first to recognize her teammate’s effort—saying that everyone contributed to the victories.
“We played like really, really, really good,” Rosado explained. “We played together every single game and we won!”
She’s hoping now to continue the success from that tournament into a historic post season.
“This is the plan, we are going to go play this tough competition and we are going to make sure our girls understand that they are capable of competing with anyone,” Drake said.
The scrappy and defensive minded group is in position to win their first district title in 37 years. But they have their sights set on something bigger.
“We want to win everything, like that’s our feeling right now,” Rosado added.
And so far, so good. Thursday night the team defeated Oviedo in the 7A-2 District Championship to end the drought. They’ll now host the first round of the regional tournament on Wednesday in Longwood.
Valeria Rosado has a bright future in front of her as she is getting interest from Notre Dame, Miami, UCF, Georgia, Maryland, West Virginia and FAU to continue her volleyball career after high school.