Players set to be part of the US Professional Volleyball League, expected to begin in the USA in January 2001, will travel to the DR to play the Dominican national women’s volleyball team next week. Cristobal Marte, vice president of the Dominican Volleyball Federation and vice president of the International Volleyball Federation made the announcement. He said that Williams Kennedy, who is promoting the new US volleyball league, will personally come with the players. He said that the Dominican team will not be at its best because team stars Nurys Arias, Yudelka Bautista and Sofia Heredia are at the present time playing in the Spanish volleyball league. He said that the promoters of the new league are studying the possibility of admitting a Dominican team to the league, or at least contracting Dominican players to reinforce the US teams. The US league will have its headquarters in New York City at the Madison Square Garden. It is expected that Dominicans living in New York would be loyal fans. The exhibition games are programmed to start 14 February in Santo Domingo at the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center Volleyball Pavilion, continuing on to Puerto Plata, Santiago, and Moca. Marte also announced the Dominican team would participate in the Millennium Volleyball Cup to be held at the Chicago Bulls arena in Chicago. Russia, Italy, Korea, Japan and Brazil will also play in that cup. (11 February 2000)
