Graciela Alexandra Márquez (born in Maracay) is a Venezuelan female

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

player.

Personal life

Márquez was born Graciela Alexandra Márquez on in Maracay, Venezuela. She is known with the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

Chela. She is married to the former professional volleyball player and coach José Alvarado and they have a son named Joseph Alfredo. She graduated from Interamerican University of Puerto Rico with a master's degree in human resources.

Career

She started playing in the senior national team since 1992, and she won the bronze medal with the Venezuela national team in the

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

and

1998 Central American and Caribbean Games 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

. She won with the Venezuelan club Indias Guerreras de Miranda the bronze medal in the 1995 South American Club Championship played in Medellin, Colombia. With the experience of playing professionally in Peru and Brazil and recovered from an arm injury, she led her national team to the qualifier tournament for the 1997 South American Championship. The Venezuela national team warmed up in the 1997 Link Cup in Colombia winning the gold medal before playing the zonal qualifier with the Colombian team and later finished in fourth place in the 1997 South American Championship held in Peru. She traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina and played the 1997/98 season with Gimnasia y Esgrima de Buenos Aires, winning the league championship alongside countrymate Daniela Patiño to Boca Juniors. Márquez recalled that it was difficult at the beginning to adapt and she was defined by the head coach as the right GEBA signing choice. Márquez played in the Italian League Serie A2 clubs Cervi Day Medical Castellanza for the 1998/99 and for the 1999/00, with Cooky Store Castellanza.

2001

She played 4x4

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two or more players on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side of the ...

with the Italian Teco Minetti Vicenza winning the 2001 Italian Cup partnering Maurizia Borri, Melissa Donà, Mirela Sesti and Elisa Zamponi. She traveled in 2001 to Puerto Rico with a sports

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

at Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, and she was tried out by the professional clubs Volleygirls de Guayanilla and later attracted the interest of

Leonas de Ponce Previously named ''Leonas de Ponce'', Ponce Leonas is the professional female volleyball team of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Their home stadium is Cancha Salvador Dijols in Playa (Ponce), Playa de Ponce, Ponce, Puerto Rico, Ponce, Puerto Rico.

, who were interested in hiring her for the 2002 Puerto Rican season. She won the 2002 Puerto Rico Athletic Games and Sports Festival volleyball championship and Most Valuable Player award. She was signed for the Puerto Rican club

Llaneras de Toa Baja Llaneras de Toa Baja is the professional female volleyball team of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico Toa Baja (, ) is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the northern coast, north of Toa Alta and Bayamón; east of Dorado; and west of Cata� ...

for the 2003 season where she, as a college student, found some money for living was voted for the all-star game and after being the tournament second best scorer with 557 points and best defensive player. On 24 January 2003 she scored 33 points and set a league record when she served 10 aces to the Rebeldes de Moca. She was voted with the 2003 season's Most Valuable Player award. She later was awarded 2002-2003 Puerto Rico Inter-university Athletics League volleyball athlete of the year and finished in the fifth place in the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when Dominican Republic had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America. Al ...

. After that season, she generated a lot of expectation for the 2004 season, but she underwent fluid extraction from her knees and could not play until the postseason playoffs. She had a knee surgery two months before the 2005 season with the team from Toa Baja and she struggled along the season, but her club decided to reserve her for the next season. She won the silver medal at the

2005 Bolivarian Games The XV Bolivarian Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Bolivarianos'') were a multi-sport event held between 12–21 August 2005 in Armenia and Pereira, Colombia. Some events took place in Cartagena de Indias and in Bogotá. The Games were organized by the ...

and the 2005 Puerto Rico Athletic Games and Sports Festival championship with Interamerican University.

2006

During the 2006 season from the Puerto Rican league she was still recovering from her knee, but managed to top the scorer with 515 points, being also chosen among the Offensive Team, Best Spiker and All Star, helping her club to reach the postseason playoffs after winning the

sudden death Sudden Death or Sudden death may refer to: Medical * Cardiac arrest, also known as sudden cardiac death, natural death from cardiac causes * Sudden cardiac death of athletes * Sudden infant death syndrome * Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy * ...

match against

Valencianas de Juncos The Valencianas de Juncos is the professional female volleyball team of Juncos, Puerto Rico. History The team was found in 2004. Current volleyball squad ''As of February 2011'' * Head Coach: Xiomara Molero Xiomara Molero Jiménez (born Ap ...

. She joined the national team for the first time since 2003 and played as the team libero during the 2006 Pan-American Cup and the

2006 Central American and Caribbean Games The 20th edition of the Central American and Caribbean Games was held in the city of Cartagena, Colombia. The tournament began on July 15 and ended on July 30. Host city *Main host city **Cartagena de Indias *Subsites: **Barranquilla, Colombia ( ...

, where her team finished in the fifth place and announced her national team retirement, because she wanted to open the space to let the young players to develop. At the end of the year, she led Interamerican University to win the 2006 Puerto Rico Athletic Games and Sports Festival championship in her last year of eligibility.

2007

She was the first import player to reach the 2,000 points in the Puerto Rican league, achieving this compliment in January 2007, and was praised by the Llaneras de Toa Baja owner Rosario Vega de Raíces as a great person, athlete and partner, additionally defining her as the best reinforcement that has played in the league. Márquez recalled that achievement as result of time and dedication. Starting the 2008 season she was allowed to play as a local player in the Puerto Rican league. She missed some warm up matches before the beginning of the 2009 season because she underwent fluid extraction from her knees again, was appointed team captain but she led her club to win the Puerto Rican championship and was awarded Finals Most Valuable Player award, and she expressed that winning the title was something she was missing and that she would change her two MVP award for a title. She was among the Offensive team and All-Star in the 2010 season. Márquez reached the 3,000 points scored in the Puerto Rican League on 31 January 2011, but in March, she agreed with Llaneras, her Puerto Rican club, to be substituted by another player because she was experiencing pain in her right knee produced by chronic

arthritis Arthritis is a term often used to mean any disorder that affects joints. Symptoms generally include joint pain and stiffness. Other symptoms may include redness, warmth, swelling, and decreased range of motion of the affected joints. In som ...

. She then served as assistant coach for the rest of the season and the 2012 season that she could not play because of her

pregnancy Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops ( gestates) inside a woman's uterus (womb). A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occurs by sexual intercourse, but ca ...

. During the 2013 season of the Puerto Rican League, she played with Gigantes de Carolina and later was transferred to

Lancheras de Cataño Lancheras de Cataño Voleibol Club is the professional female volleyball team of Cataño, Puerto Rico Cataño () is a town and municipality located on the northeastern coast of Puerto Rico, bordering the San Juan Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, a ...

. In the first season of the Venezuelan League, Márquez won the 2013 Championship and the Most Valuable player award. Márquez played as libero for Orientales de Humacao in the 2014 season, helping them to reach the post season playoffs and was selected to play the All-Star game in the Puerto Rican league. She also won the Venezuelan league championship with Aragua and the Most Valuable Player for the 2014 season. As the reigning Venezuelan Champion, she played the 2015 South American Club Championship with Aragua where they finished in the sixth place after losing 2-3 the final match to the Chilean Boston College. She came back to Puerto Rico and acted as head coach of the junior team Colegio Capitán Correa de Arecibo in the Puerto Rican national schools tournaments. For the 2016 Puerto Rican season, she played for Capitalinas de San Juan and won the Comeback of the Year award. She finished in the fourth place among the liberos in the 2017 Puerto Rican league and with 3,637 points, ranked fifth in the League's lifetime records.

Clubs

* Indias Guerreras de Miranda (1995) * Gimnasia y Esgrima de Buenos Aires (1997-1998) * Cervi Day Medical Castellanza (1998–1999) * Cooky Store Castellanza (1999–2000) *

(2003–2011) * Gigantes de Carolina (2013) *

(2013) * Aragua Voleibol Club (2013) * Orientales de Humacao (2014) * Aragua Voleibol Club (2014-2015) * Capitalinas de San Juan (2016-2017)

Awards

Individuals

* ''2003 Puerto Rican League "Most Valuable Player"'' * ''2003 Puerto Rican League "All-Star"'' * ''2006 Puerto Rican League "Most Valuable Player"'' * ''2006 Puerto Rican League "Best Scorer"'' * ''2006 Puerto Rican League "Best Spiker"'' * ''2006 Puerto Rican League "All-Star"'' * '' 2009 Puerto Rican League "Finals Most Valuable Player"'' * '' 2009 Puerto Rican League "All-Star"'' * '' 2010 Puerto Rican League "All-Star"'' * ''2013 Venezuelan League "Most Valuable Player"'' * ''2014 Puerto Rican League "All-Star"'' * ''2014 Venezuelan League "Most Valuable Player"'' * ''2016 Puerto Rican League "Comeback Player of the Year"''

Clubs

* 1995 South American Club Championship – Bronze medal, with Indias Guerreras de Miranda * 1997-98 Argentinian League– Simple cup icon

Champion, with Gimnasia y Esgrima de Buenos Aires * 2004 Puerto Rican League – Bronze medal, with Llaneras de Toa Baja * 2009 Puerto Rican League – Simple cup icon

Champion, with Llaneras de Toa Baja * 2010 Puerto Rican League – Gorm silver cup

Runner-Up, with Llaneras de Toa Baja * 2013 Venezuelan League – Simple cup icon

Champion, with Aragua Voleibol Club * 2014 Venezuelan League – Simple cup icon

Champion, with Aragua Voleibol Club * 2016 Puerto Rican League – Gorm silver cup

Runner-Up, with Capitalinas de San Juan

References

External links

Italian League Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marquez, Graciela 1978 births Living people Venezuelan women's volleyball players Sportspeople from Maracay Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalists for Venezuela Competitors at the 1993 Central American and Caribbean Games Competitors at the 1998 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in volleyball 20th-century Venezuelan women 21st-century Venezuelan women Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in Puerto Rico Expatriate volleyball players in Puerto Rico Venezuelan beach volleyball players Women's beach volleyball players Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in Brazil Interamerican University of Puerto Rico alumni Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in Peru Expatriate volleyball players in Peru Expatriate volleyball players in Brazil Expatriate volleyball players in Argentina Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in Argentina Venezuelan expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate volleyball players in Italy Venezuelan emigrants to Puerto Rico