Ahead of the 2025 volleyball season, University of Maryland Eastern Shore outside hitter Karielys Melendez competed for the U21 Puerto Rico National Team at the Pan American Cup in Costa Rica and the U21 World Championship in Indonesia. 

Melendez, who made the U21 Puerto Rico National Team for the second consecutive year, has spent each of her last two summers honing her volleyball skills on the international stage.

"The first year, they did an open tryout, and I went," said Melendez. "They called me and told me I made the team which was amazing. For the second year, the team reached out to me and we had a few more tryouts. I am happy I got the opportunity to represent my country again."

Melendez grew familiar with the high degree of competition, winning a silver medal at the 2024 NORCECA Women's U21 Continental Championship in Toronto, Canada, and competing against 23 other countries at the 2025 U21 World Championship.

"The experience gives you so much maturity and helps you see the court so much better due to the high level of competition," said Melendez. "The players there never gave up on balls as they would have these amazing saves. Every time you made a point it was something big because you did something amazing."

Through seven games with the Hawks, Melendez has posted 55 kills and 51 digs, including a team-high18 kills against Montana State on Sept. 4.

"Playing at that level helped me know certain things about playing that I did not know before," said Melendez. "All of these things I learned from playing on the National Team have made me a better player and I am so glad to bring that to Maryland Eastern Shore."

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