Volleyball great’s No. 3 jersey retired

In the four years (2006-2009) Yarimar Rosa wore an FIU uniform, she racked up one “first” after another. Last week she was at it again: The four-time All American became the first Panther volleyball player in school history to have her jersey retired. The historic occasion occurred at a special presentation Sept. 30 in U.S. Century Bank Arena, the scene of many of her accomplishments.

During her FIU playing career, the Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, native led the university to back-to-back Sun Belt Conference (SBC) regular season titles and NCAA Tournament appearances. One of the most decorated student-athletes in FIU history, Rosa is the volleyball program’s only four-time All American. She is also the program’s all-time leader in career kills (2,083) and holds numerous FIU single-season and single-match records.

The 5′-10″ outside hitter earned Sun Belt Conference Volleyball Player of the Week accolades a conference-record 13 times and was a four-time First Team All-Sun Belt Conference and AVCA All-South Region selection. Rosa was tabbed Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year and AVCA South Region Freshman of the Year in 2006, and she earned Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year accolades in 2008 and 2009. Also in 2008, Rosa was named SBC Female Student-Athlete of the Year after leading the nation in kills per set.

Today Rosa plays volleyball professionally for the Puerto Rican National Team.