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Cindy Marina Crowned Miss Universe Albania
June 10, 2019 | Women's Volleyball, Features
The Trojans’ senior setter will represent her native country of Albania in the 2019 Miss Universe Pageant
TIRANA, Albania – USC women's volleyball senior setter Cindy Marina (Temecula, Calif./Great Oak HS) was crowned Miss Universe Albania at the Palace of Congresses on Saturday, June 8. She will represent her native country in the 2019 Miss Universe Pageant, which will be held in South Korea in late December.
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Marina is the first-ever American-born Albanian (Chicago, Ill.) to be crowned for the title and hails from the municipality of Shkodër where her parents Ardian and Kristina resided.
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Marina also holds the distinction as the youngest player (17 in 2015) to play for the Albanian National Team. Last summer, she led her country to a silver-medal finish at the 2018 Women's European Volleyball League in Budapest, Hungary.
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In two seasons at USC, Marina has played in 48 matches for the Women of Troy, and amassed 711 assists, 214 digs, and 45 service aces. She transferred to USC following one season at Duke where she was an All-Atlantic Coast Conference freshman-team choice, a conference All-Academic Team selection, and AVCA All-East Region honorable mention.
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The Trojans are led by second-year head coach Brent Crouch. In his first season (2018), USC finished with a 22-11 overall record and a second-place tie in the Pac-12 (13-7). The Trojans played one of the toughest schedules in the nation with 18 AVCA ranked opponents. USC made its 36th appearance in the NCAA tournament (28th consecutive) and advanced to the second round as the 11th seed before falling in an upset to San Diego. Outside hitter Brooke Botkin was named to the AVCA All-America second team and became the program's 42nd all-time All-American. Freshman setter Raquel Lázaro was chosen as the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and received AVCA All-America honorable mention alongside outside hitter Khalia Lanier.
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For more information on the USC women's volleyball team and a complete schedule and results, please visit USCTrojans.com/WVB. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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Marina is the first-ever American-born Albanian (Chicago, Ill.) to be crowned for the title and hails from the municipality of Shkodër where her parents Ardian and Kristina resided.
Â
Marina also holds the distinction as the youngest player (17 in 2015) to play for the Albanian National Team. Last summer, she led her country to a silver-medal finish at the 2018 Women's European Volleyball League in Budapest, Hungary.
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In two seasons at USC, Marina has played in 48 matches for the Women of Troy, and amassed 711 assists, 214 digs, and 45 service aces. She transferred to USC following one season at Duke where she was an All-Atlantic Coast Conference freshman-team choice, a conference All-Academic Team selection, and AVCA All-East Region honorable mention.
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The Trojans are led by second-year head coach Brent Crouch. In his first season (2018), USC finished with a 22-11 overall record and a second-place tie in the Pac-12 (13-7). The Trojans played one of the toughest schedules in the nation with 18 AVCA ranked opponents. USC made its 36th appearance in the NCAA tournament (28th consecutive) and advanced to the second round as the 11th seed before falling in an upset to San Diego. Outside hitter Brooke Botkin was named to the AVCA All-America second team and became the program's 42nd all-time All-American. Freshman setter Raquel Lázaro was chosen as the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and received AVCA All-America honorable mention alongside outside hitter Khalia Lanier.
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For more information on the USC women's volleyball team and a complete schedule and results, please visit USCTrojans.com/WVB. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow @USCWomensVolley on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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