At the Maccabi games, women’s voleyball shines.

Thanks to the generosity of great friends and family, my husband Baruch and I had the great fortune to join our daughter, Gavriela in Santiago, Chile, for the 2015 Pan American Maccabi games. The USA delegation was over 450 strong, with nearly 3,000 Jewish athletes from around the world participating. Gavriela played for the women’s open volleyball team. The USA volleyball team was made up of top players from around the country.

Maccabi does a great job of creating a culture where everyone is able to celebrate being Jewish in an environment where everyone around them is Jewish. Gavriela was the only woman from the USA who was orthodox.

The USA women’s volleyball team was 3-0 when it went into the last round robin game against Brazil. They lost that game 3-0. On Monday, USA played Brazil for the gold and lost 3-2 after a very close nail biter game. USA proudly won the silver.

We were grateful to be a part of such a unifying experience and to meet Jews from all around the world! Taking home silver is a great bonus.

By Alyssa Colton