Player Profile: Pitt Panthers’ Valeria Vazquez Gomez

As the Pittsburgh Panther’s Women’s Volleyball team concludes its spring home games, a Puerto Rico native stands poised to step into stardom.

Valeria Vazquez Gomez is coming off her best year with the Panthers. In her redshirt sophomore year, the outside hitter appeared in 28 matches, starting in eight of them. She recorded a career-high 14 kills in a road match against No. 13 Georgia Tech. Gomez also played an important role in the Panthers’ first-ever Final Four appearance, with at least one ace in four of five tournament matches.

Gomez hails from Manati, Puerto Rico, and played high school ball at Colegio Marista Manati. She is the son of a professional basketball player, and she has four siblings: Frances, Verüshka, Jonathan, and Zahira. Like her, all four play volleyball.

International fans can catch Gomez and her Pitt teammates this May on their European tour. The Panthers will travel from Barcelona to Milan, and play at least four matches against professional international competitors.