With the Puerto Rican League now well underway, the Chicago Untouchables want to highlight two of their all-star players competing in the Caribbean province. Both libero Juan Rosa Melendez and outside hitter Nick Ramos have been instrumental in getting the Untouchables to the 2021 NVA Championship tournament and are now making a significant impact on their new teams.

For Juan Rosa, this will be his 10th season playing in Puerto Rico but playing for a new team with the Cafeteros de Yuaco! Previously Juan has played with Leones de Ponce, Coama Maratonistas, Cariduras de Fajardo, Changos de Naranjito, Criolles de Caguas, and the Atenienses de Manati. The Cafeteros are located on the southwest side of the island and have been around since 1958. Their dynasty period in the league was during the ’60s, and ’70’s when they won seven championships and seven 2nd place finishes.

Some recent notable players for the Cafeteros include LA Blaze’s libero, Ricardo Massanet Laureano. As well as USC alumni Jon Rivera, who played with Texas Tyrants outside hitter Gianluca Grasso back in 2018/19.

https://www.voleimasculinopr.com/cafeteros-de-yauco

For Nick Ramos, this will be his first professional season outside of the NVA, signing to play with Patriotas de Lares. It also happens to be the first year of the Patriot’s reconception after its hiatus since 2016. The move to bring back the club was a significant NVA collaboration with previous Matadors manager Natasha Mills and OC stunner’s owner Bill Li to take on the team and relocate the club back to its hometown of Lares. Ramos will also be joined on the court by LA Blaze Opposite, Joseph Andrew Cuevas Torres.

https://www.primerahora.com/deportes/voleibol/notas/los-patriotas-de-lares-vuelven-al-voleibol-superior-masculino/

Everyone with the Chicago Untouchables wishes Juan, Ramos, and both teams the best of luck this season. They all look to make history as they push to make the podium for the first time in years. Fans can stay up to date with both players and teams this season by following Juan Rosa (@rosa_juan18), Nick Ramos (@ramos.619), the Patriotas (@patriotasdelares), and the Cafeteros (@CafeterosVoli) on Instagram/Facebook. The league is already in its 2^nd week, so make sure you catch some of the action before it is all over!

“Volley On With the NVA”

NVA Staff Writer

With the 2022 NVA Season already in the works, here is a look at the rankings for the top five players for each statistical throughout the season. These rankings exclude players who competed in less than ten sets or had less than 100 attempts. Check them out to see which if your favorite players made the cut as one of the Top 5 All-Stars for each category.

Best Scorer (Points/Sets Played)

1. Brandon Rattray, Ramblers – 6.14 (270/44) 
2. Felix Chapman, Tornadoes – 6 (60/10)
3. Corey Chavers, Stunners – 4.96 (114/23)
4. Jake Langlois, Stingers – 4.42 (115/26)
5. Joe Norman, Team Freedom – 4.34 (126/29)

Best Server (Service Aces/Sets Played)

1. Brandon Rattray, Ramblers – 0.64 (28/44)
2. Ian Capp, Untouchables – 0.6 (15/25)
3. Jair Santiago-Sanchez, Stunners – 0.47 (15/32)
4. Carlos Serrano, Matadors – 0.38 (8/21)
5. Will Ragland and Jake Milnaziak, Untouchables – 0.38 (9/24)

Best Blocker (Blocks/Sets Played)

1. Tim Lourich, Exposure – 0.7 (30/43)
2. Alex Shmelev, Stingers – 0.68 (23/34)
3. Joe Norman, Freedom – 0.59 (17/29)
4. Matt Seifert, Freedom – 0.59 (24/41)
5. Paul Bilanzic, Untouchables – 0.58 (19/33)

Best Scorer (Total Points)

1. Brandon Rattray, Ramblers – 270 
2. Gianluca Grasso, Tyrants – 163
3. Ryan Mather, Ramblers – 152
4. Jorge Mencia, Stingers – 144
5. Jair Santiago-Sanchez, Stunners – 129

Best Server (Total Service Aces)

1. Brandon Rattray, Ramblers – 28
2. Ian Capp, Untouchables – 15
3. Jair Santiago-Sanchez, Stunners – 15 
4. Ryan Mather, Ramblers – 14
5. Nick West, Stunners – 13

Best Blocker (Total Blocks)

1. Tim Lourich, Exposure – 30
2. Matt Seifert, Freedom – 23
3. Alex Schmelev, Stingers – 23
4. Paul Bilanzic, Untouchables – 19
5. Nick West, Stunners – 19

Best Passer (Perfect Reception + Positive Reception/All Receptions)

1. Johnny Gomez, Exposure – 93% (204/219)
2. Julian Rivera, Tyrants – 92% (191/207)
3. Gianluca Grasso, Tyrants – 91% (161/176)
4. Josh Ayzenberg, Stunners – 91% (102/112)
5. Corey Chavers, Stunners – 91% (122/134)

Best Attacker (Kills/All Attack Attempts)

1. Brandon Rattray, Ramblers – 56% (228/410)
2. Corey Chavers, Stunners – 55% (98/179)
3. Kevin Lopez, Ramblers – 51% (59/115)
4. Paul Bilanzic, Untouchables – 51% (72/141)
5. Nick West, Stunners – 51% (56/110)

Best Defender (Total Digs)

1. Johnny Gomez, Exposure – 90
2. Ricardo Massanet, Blaze – 88
3. Ryan Manoogian, Ramblers – 87
4. Kyle Dagostino, Exposure – 81
5. Inovel Romero, Stingers – 79

• NVA Staff Writer 

In only their first season in the NVA, the Chicago Untouchables have made their way into the finals after a long-fought regular season. With a distinctive and geographically diverse roster, including previous Tennessee Tyrants and Team Freedom players, the Untouchables have managed to come out with some impressive first appearance performances. Especially from Puerto Rican Libero, Juan-Rosa “JJ” Melendez, who is finally getting his exposure here in the United States after having an early career in the Puerto Rican professional league since 2011.   

Wanting to play for the University of Puerto Rico at Bayamon’s Division II program, JJ missed out on his collegiate experience due to the NCAA restrictions on professional players. But JJ still gained valuable experiences in Puerto Rico, nominated for the 2013 rookie of the year with the Maratonistas de Coamo and winning the 2018 Federation Cup with the Criollos de Caguas. Now looking like a seasoned veteran in the NVA, JJ is making his job look easy against the other competitors in the league. In his first NVA season, he is now ranked 23rd for perfect passing percentage and has racked up an impressive 55 digs (2.3 digs per set). 

From the age of seven, JJ has been influenced by the woman’s game, learning how to play the game from practicing and playing with his older sisters. Additionally, JJ was inspired to play professionally by his older cousin, Jorge Alifonso (tripod.com), who played at the University of Hawaii and Lewis University back in the late 90’s a long career in Puerto Rico. Even today, JJ study’s other woman’s national team liberos before each game to get himself ready to compete.  

“Normally leading up to a match, I look for film on the other team’s first set to see their lineups and initial play style. Then before I warm up, I watch highlight videos of Brenda Castillo and Jenia Grebennikov to visualize how I want to play when I’m in the game.” – Juan-Rosa Melendez. 

Looking back on his journey from Puerto Rico to the NVA, JJ now feels like he has been able to break barriers as an LGBTQ+ player at the professional level. JJ would tell any younger player not to let the negative perceptions of other players and coaches stop you from pursuing their dreams. 

“Now that I’m here playing at this level, it shows that there is a chance for everyone to make it if you are willing to put in the work and develop yourself. I now have so many LGBTQ+ friends coming to me asking how to play at this level. I say to all of them, don’t worry, if I can make it here, so can you.” – Juan-Rosa Melendez. 

Fans can catch Juan Rosa, and the Untouchables make their push into the playoffs as they take on Southern Exposure, on July 9th. Make sure to give JJ (@rosa_juan18), the Chicago Untouchables (@untouchables_nvausa), and the NVA (@nvausa) a follow-on Instagram to stay up with the team and catch highlight clips from Event 3. 

Happy PRIDE Month, Everyone!

• By NVA Staff Writer