Lausanne, Switzerland, November 20, 2019 – Twenty-three-year-old Brayelin Elizabeth Martinez has made significant strides in her young career, establishing herself as the Dominican Republic’s go-to hitter in international competitions and now playing for Dentil Praia Clube in Brazil. She will be one of the players to look out for when the FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship takes place in Shaoxing, China from December 3-8.
Making a name for herself at the outside hitter position, Brayelin was her country's top scorer at the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Nations League and at this year's edition of the FIVB Volleyball Women's World Cup, where only Nataliya Gonchorova of Russia and Ana Bjelica of Serbia claimed more points.
Her athleticism runs in the blood. Her mother was a team manager of age-group national teams in the Dominican Republic and her sister Jineiry and brother are also professional athletes.
“My brother plays basketball and my 21-year-old sister Jineiry plays with me in the national team. We are all into sports. It’s my life and I feel good because I have learned a lot from it. It makes me happy to be in this field,” she said, speaking at the Women's World Cup in September.
“As for myself, I’m just working hard to achieve my dream and transform into a complete player. I work very hard to improve my game.”
Brayelin turns to her teammates for inspiration and has learned to handle each situation with teamwork.
“Everyone in my team inspires me,” she said. “We play like a team and we make it a point to help each other out.”
Her club will begin their campaign in Shaoxing with a match against last year's Club World Championship winners VakifBank Istanbul of Turkey on December 3. Dentil Praia Clube will also take on Tianjin Bohai Bank of China and Igor Gorgonzola Novara of Italy in Pool B.
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