Razorback Athletes Cope with Hurricane Aftermath

Two Razorback athletes are feeling the effects of the disaster in Puerto Rico.

The eye of the Category 4 hurricane, Hurricane Maria, made landfall on the island of Puerto Rico on Sept. 20. Nearly three weeks after the initial landfall, only 15 percent of the country has power, according to Axios.

Arkansas volleyball stars outside hitter Pilar Victoria and libero Okiana Valle are both from Puerto Rico. Their entire families still live there, and they are dealing with the constant series of crises caused by the devastating storm.

Victoria said she heard from her family at noon the day the hurricane hit but lost all contact with them for nearly a week after.

“Oh my God, it was stressful,” Victoria said. “At (that) point, practices for me weren’t going that well, and I just needed that support of my mom and my dad, telling me like, ‘Hey, everything’s going to be okay. You’re going to be fine. Just keep pushing,’ or something like that. I didn’t have that.”

Not having that line of communication made practices very difficult for her.

Her parents were typically there to help her through hard times, Victoria said.

During the disaster, the team members helped them in any way they could to support them in their time of need.

Victoria said the entire team helped Valle and her try to contact their families even during games. The coaching staff would be making calls and trying to reach them while Victoria and Valle were on the court playing against Tennessee on Sept. 20.

“We all knew we had to step it up a little bit so it would take the pressure off of them and let them know that we have their back,” freshman outside hitter Hailey Dirrigl said. “Volleyball is just one part of life, and we know that they’re going through even more things, so we could help them in that way and try to keep the stress off of them.”

The day the hurricane hit, the team played Tennessee, which they beat 3-0, in Barnhill Arena for the first Southeastern Conference matchup of the season.

One of her best friends, Kanisha Jimenez, who plays for the Volunteers, had also not heard from her family in Puerto Rico. Valle had not either. Victoria said that was very difficult for them. They were unsure about where their families were or if they were okay.

“We were in the same boat, basically,” Victoria said. “It was tough for all three of us. At least for me, I just focused on the game. I tried to do my best, thank God we (got) the win, but it was tough.”

Valle is the only person in her family that is in the U.S. right now. She said losing contact with her entire family was a terrifying experience.

“It was terrible,” Valle said. “I remember that I played versus Tennessee, and I didn’t know about my family. When I got out of the game, I was hoping to have maybe like a text or a call or something, but no.”

Valle said she had a friend contact her to tell her that their family was okay and to ask how her family was. Valle couldn’t give an answer, and she was worried that maybe her family wasn’t okay.

She said that she spoke to her mother the night before the landfall, and she told Valle to play well and that they would be okay. That was her motivation against Tennessee.

The next day, Valle said she finally heard back from her family. They said their house was okay but that they still needed water and other necessities.

Both players are now in contact with their families. Whether by driving for miles to get a signal or by charging their cell phones in their cars, they reach out as often as they can.

Victoria said no matter what she is doing, she drops everything if her parents call her. She doesn’t know when the next time they are able to communicate will be, so she has to take every opportunity as it comes.