ST. AUGUSTINE – Former Flagler College volleyball standout setter Rebecca Royal has made the 14-woman roster of the Team Florida Wave, a professional indoor team, as released yesterday (Jan. 10).

The Team Florida Wave is part of the new Premier Volleyball League (PVL), a women's pro league sanctioned by USA Volleyball.  This is a grassroots based league that is unique and has unlimited potential as teams come online across the United States. Since USA Volleyball has 40 regions there could be as many as 40 professional volleyball teams in the future. Other teams in the fledgling league are the Black Ice out of Iowa and another based out of Intermountain, Utah. League rules specify that you cannot be a current high school or college athlete and you must be a member of the region for which you will play. No international transfers (from other Federations) will be permitted.   

The 6-foot-2 Royal played all four years (2007-10) at Flagler and was selected as the co-Setter of the Year in the Peach Belt Conference in 2010. She earned both AVCA and Daktronics All-Region honors as a senior. Royal holds the school record for block assists in a career with 332 and is third all-time in assists (2,668) and total blocks (385). She played in a total of 148 matches and boasted an attack percentage of .306 with 330 career kills.

In 2009, she helped lead Flagler to its first conference regular and post-season titles, as well as the Southeast Region crown and a berth into the elite eight where the Saints won their quarterfinal match. Royal tallied 104 kills, hit .361, tallied 740 assists and 99 total blocks. As a senior, she helped Flagler defend both conference crowns and advance to the regional final.

Royal will be one of three non-Division I players on the team, joining Barry University's Kelly Dantas and Rollins College's Sarah Mendoza. The rest of the primary team members include: Alicia Johnson (Southern Illinois), Valerie Martinez (UNF), Janice Rivera (USF/Winthrop), Megan Wallin (Michigan State), Kisya Killingsworth and Benavia Jenkins (Florida), Tanya Jarvis (UCF), Marcela Oliveria (USF), Kristen Batt (Kentucky), Adriana Fundora (FIU), and Katie Sanders (Baylor). These athletes will be paid a stipend for competition dates as well as for practices.

Justine Burkhardt, who played at Flagler from 2006-09, is a secondary athlete. She will practice with the team and at the discretion of the coaching staff can join the main team.

The team has already started practicing for the upcoming season which opens Mar. 17 at UCF. Listed tentatively on the schedule is a trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico to play matches.