Áurea Cruz

Áurea Cruz
Personal information
Nickname Aury
Nationality Puerto Rican
Born (1982-01-10) January 10, 1982
New York, New York
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Spike 310 cm (120 in)
Block 290 cm (110 in)
Volleyball information
Position Outside Hitter
Career
YearsTeams
1998–1999
2004–2005
2005–2006
2006–2007
2007–2008
2008–2009
2009
2009–2012
2012–2015
2015–2016		Llaneras de Toa Baja
Llaneras de Toa Baja
Airone Tortolì
Altamura
Ícaro Palma
Hyundai Greenfox
Llaneras de Toa Baja
Villa Cortese
Rabita Baku
Igor Volley Novara
National team
1996–2016Puerto Rico
Medal record
Women's volleyball
Representing  Puerto Rico
NORCECA Championship
2009 Bayamón Team
Central American and Caribbean Games
2010 Mayagüez Team
2014 Veracruz Team
2006 Cartagena Team
Pan-American Cup
2009 Miami Team

Áurea Esther "Aury" Cruz (born January 10, 1982) is a female volleyball player from Puerto Rico who competed for the Puerto Rico national team at the 2008 Olympic Qualification Tournament in Japan, where she was named Best Server at the event.

College career

Cruz accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where she competed for coach Mary Wise's Florida Gators women's volleyball team from 2000 to 2003. The Gators competed in NCAA Division I and the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and were the regular season SEC champions four straight years during Cruz's college career. In 2003, Cruz guided the Gators to their first-ever appearance in the NCAA championship final, where they lost to the University of Southern California (USC). Following her 2003 senior season, she was nominated for Best Player in NCAA Division I. She was a three-time first-team All-SEC selection, and received AVCA first-team All-American honors three consecutive years (2001, 2002, 2003). She graduated from the university with a bachelor's degree in recreation in 2005, and was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2014.[1]

Career

In 1999, Cruz received the Final Series Most Valuable Player award when her team from Puerto Rico, Llaneras de Toa Baja won the League Championship.[2] Cruz won the silver medal in the 2012 FIVB Club World Championship, playing with the Azerbaijani club Rabita Baku.[3]

Cruz's club, Rabita Baku won the Bronze medal of the 2013–14 CEV Champions League after falling 0-3 to the Russian Dinamo Kazan in the semifinals,[4] but defeating 3-0 to the Turkish Eczacıbaşı VitrA Istanbul in the third place match.[5]

In May 2015, the Italian club Igor Novara announced the signing of Cruz for the 2015–16 season.[6]

Clubs

Awards

Individual

Club

References

  1. ↑ F Club, Hall of Fame, Gator Greats. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  2. ↑ PUR Volleyball Federation. "Llaneras Campeonas" (in Spanish). Retrieved 2009-05-10.
  3. ↑ "Trentino Diatec and Sollys Nestle crowned in Doha". Doha, Qatar: FIVB. 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2012-10-19.
  4. ↑ "Dinamo disappoints Baku home crowd by claiming the last spot in final". Baku, Azerbaijan: CEV. 2014-03-15. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  5. ↑ "Bronze consolation for Rabita at home Final Four". Baku, Azerbaijan: CEV. 2014-03-16. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  6. ↑ "Igor Gorgonzola Novara: colpo internazionale, in posto quattro arriva Aurea Cruz". Lega Pallavolo Serie A Femminile. 2015-05-27. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
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