Roberto “Rafu” Rodriguez

Roberto “Rafu” Rodriguez attended the University of Sacred Heart in San Juan, Puerto Rico, for Physical Science and Health Promotion. As an indoor setter and beach player, he won three indoor and three beach Championships and was named Most Valuable Player. He then represented Puerto Rico in NORCECA tournaments and podiumed nearly 40 times. He played in two Pan American Games in 2011 and 2015, two Central America and Caribbean Games in 2010 and 2014, and in the World Championships in the Netherlands in 2015. During his AVP rookie year, Rafu and partner Kevin McColloch became the first #16-seeded team to upset a #1 seed—Olympians Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson—in Seattle 2016. Since then, Rafu has been a steady defender on tour, maintaining his Main Draw status and even getting an AVP win with Ed Ratledge in 2018.

In addition to playing, Rafu has coached all types of volleyball—men and women, indoor and beach, club and college—and is currently coaching for Temecula Valley High School. He and his wife moved to Southern California from Puerto Rico in 2016 and have since welcomed a son and daughter into their family.