Volleyball Inks Puerto Rican National Team Captain Valencia Dariana to NLI

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Little Rock Head Volleyball Coach Van Compton announced the signing of Valencia Dariana, the team captain and starting setter for Puerto Rico's U19 national team, to a National Letter of Intent Monday. Dariana is currently in Puerto Rico set to lead her country in the 2023 NORCECA U19 Pan American Cup.
 
A 5-foot-6 setter from Arecibo, Puerto Rico, Dariana is not making her debut on the international stage this weekend as the 2023 NORCECA U19 Pan American Cup gets underway in her native Puerto Rico. She was the team captain and starting setter for Puerto Rico at the 2022 NORCECA U19 Pan American Cup held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, guiding Puerto Rico to a fourth-place finish that included a 3-1 upset over Mexico in the quarterfinal round.
 
Throughout that tournament, Dariana totaled 72 assists, 49 digs, five aces, three kills and one block in six matches, starting and playing in 23 sets, with one double-double. That came in a 15-dig, 12-assist performance in the semifinals against Brazil, falling in a dramatic 3-2 decision with set scores of 19-25, 25-21, 25-15, 18-25 and 15-8.
 
She nearly registered a double-double in the quarterfinal round as her 23 assists, nine digs, two aces and one kill led Puerto Rico to a 3-1 win over Mexico in a match that witnessed set scores of 20-25, 27-25, 25-20 and 25-21.
 
Dariana and Puerto Rico moved on to the Bronze Medal match against the Dominican Republic, but were stymied in a 3-1 loss with set scores of 28-26, 22-25, 25-22 and 32-30. The Trojans' newest signee totaled 12 assists and seven digs in that match.
 
She will head to the Capital City following her latest international competition and comes to Little Rock after playing club for Capitanas Arecibo, where she received multiple AAU titles and All-America accolades.
 
Dariana and Puerto Rico begin play on Tuesday, May 9 as part of Group B along with Canada, the Dominican Republic and Honduras. Their first match is set for a 7 p.m. CDT/8 p.m. AST first serve Tuesday as Puerto Rico faces Canada at Dolores "Toyita" Coliseum in Martinez de Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico.
 
For the latest information on Little Rock Volleyball, make sure to check out LRTrojans.com. You can also find the team on social media at @LittleRockVB on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
 
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