The Puerto Rico Clasico preseason tournament featured six elite NCAA teams duking it out in San Juan, Puerto Rico. With four of the eight matches going to five sets, there was plenty of excitement for fans to enjoy, and ample opportunity for individual players to step up and prove themselves.

What follows is the FloVolleyball Puerto Rico Clasico All-Tournament Team.



Krystal Rivers | Alabama | Redshirt Senior | Oppostie

The redshirt senior opposite from Birmingham, Alabama, blew away every other player in the Puerto Rico Clasico in terms of kills and total attempts. Over the three matches in which her Crimson Tide squad went 2-1, Rivers put away 75 kills and swung 149 times. We hope the Bama athletic training staff packed a portable ice bath for the flight home.

Milica Kubura | Florida State | Senior | Opposite

Kubura led the Seminole squad in kills with 15 versus Minnesota in the final match of the Puerto Rico Clasico. She put away 19 and 13 the previous two nights, and hit an impressive .542 and .517 versus Texas A&M and Alabama, respectively. Over the three days of the event, she added two solo blocks and and four block assists.

Christina Ambrose | Florida State | Redshirt Sophomore | Outside Hitter

Ambrose stepped up big for Florida State in its five-set victory over Texas A&M. The Seminoles went down 0-2, but managed to take the final three sets -- thanks, in large part, to contributions from the redshirt sophomore. By the end of the match, Ambrose put away six block assists and a solo block in addition to her 13 kills. Similar performances followed versus Alabama (11 kills hitting .348, five digs, and two blocks) and Minnesota (10 kills and four digs). 

Carol Raffety | Virginia Tech | Freshman | Libero

Rafferty came to Virginia Tech as a hitter, but has started in the libero position since the Hokies' opening match of the year. At the Puerto Rico Clasico, the freshman led all liberos with an average of 4.11 digs/set, including a 20-dig performance versus Alabama and 16 digs in the Hokies' three-set loss to Texas A&M.

Kaitlyn Blake | Texas A&M | Sophomore | Middle Blocker

Blake was A&M's biggest force at the net during the Aggies' trip to San Juan, where she led the team in total blocks in each of its three matches. Against Florida State, she collected five blocks in addition to 13 kills (hitting .409), five digs, and an ace. Against Virginia Tech, the Allen, Texas, native had her best offensive night by adding eight kills to the box score with zero errors to hit .667. 

Sarah Wilhite | Minnesota | Senior | Outside Hitter

Sixteen kills, three errors, 28 attempts versus Texas A&M. Eighteen kills, six errors, and 52 attempts versus Florida State. Wilhite has quickly become her team's go-to offensive weapon, but she also contributes big numbers from the back row. In two victories for the Gophers in San Juan, she collected 13 digs and four blocks.

Samantha Seliger-Swenson | Minnesota | Sophomore | Setter

Seliger-Swenson ran the smoothest, most effective offense in Puerto Rico. Against Texas A&M, her team hit .287 and .320 against Florida State. She expertly fed the ball to her many weapons, running a quick ball to Wilhite on the outside, ones with Paige Tapp in the middle, and slide after slide after slide with Hannah Tapp. 

Alexis Hart | Minnesota | Freshman | Outside Hitter

Freshman outside Hart faced the tall task of replacing First Team All-American Daly Santana for the 2016 Gophers, and the high-flying six-footer from Independence, Missouri, proved she's up to the job in the Gophers' two matches in Puerto Rico. With seven kills against A&M and 15 against Florida State, Hart helped elevate the Gophers to a 2-0 record at the Puerto Rico Clasico.

Puerto Rico Clasico MVP

Hannah Tapp | Minnesota | Senior | Opposite 

Hannah Tapp wowed audiences inside the Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez by demolishing swings out of the middle and right side and putting up an impenetrable block at the net. Against Florida State, she tied Wilhite's match-high 18 kills and led the team with six blocks. On a team with many offensive options, Tapp stood out as the most deadly, and for that reason, she earned the tournament's MVP honors.