| Daniela Álvarez Mendoza | |
| Nationality: | Spanish |
| Birth Date: | 27 November 2001 |
| Birth Place: | Gijón, Spain |
| Height: | 187 cm |
| Currentteammate: | Tania Moreno |
| Hometown: | Gijón, Asturias |
| Homecountry: | Spain |
| College: | Texas Christian University |
| Medaltemplates-Title: | Medal record |
Daniela Álvarez Mendoza (born 27 November 2001)[1] is a Spanish beach volleyball player. She played with Tania Moreno at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. She currently attends Texas Christian University where she is part of the TCU beach volleyball team.
Álvarez grew up in Asturias, Spain. She grew up playing tennis and dreaming of competing at the collegiate level in the United States. It wasn't until 2016, when she was encouraged by her friends to give volleyball a chance that she began to consider different options for her future. Using the strength and coordination she developed as a tennis player, Álvarez played beach volleyball for just nine days before being invited to travel to the National Training Center.[2]
Álvarez plays beach volleyball at Texas Christian University. She played in four consecutive seasons (2020, 2021, 2022, & 2023) and has one more year of NCAA eligibility due to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Before the 2023 season started, Álvarez was awarded preseason All-Conference Player of the Year and preseason All-Conference under CCSA. Along with partner Tania Moreno, Álvarez was awarded AVCA First-Team All-American, AVCA Top Flight and unanimously voted AVCA’s Pair of the Year. Throughout the season, the duo was awarded CCSA pair of the week three times (March 8, March 15, March 29). Álvarez lived up to her accolades with the best record on the team from the Spring 2023 season, 37-1, and hit her 75th career win milestone.[3]
Before the 2022 season began, Álvarez was awarded preseason CCSA All-Conference awards; preseason Player of the Year and preseason All-Conference. She quickly lived up to these expectations when, for the second time in her career, was awarded both CCSA and AVCA Pair of the Week honors after season debuts (February 26–27). Álvarez played all matches from the No. 1 position, with Team Spain partner, Tania Moreno Mateeva, the duo racked up 23 victories on the regular season with 11 over ranked opponents. The pairing took notable victories over No. 1 UCLA, No. 4 Florida State, No. 4 LSU, No. 8 Cal Poly and No. 9 Hawaii. They finished the season 28-6 as a pairing with 14 of those victories over ranked opponents. The pair received the AVCA top flight award proving they are one of the top pairings in the country, first in program history to be awarded CCSA Pair of the Year with partner Moreno, awarded All-CCSA Conference team honors, and first team AVCA All-American.
Álvarez played all but one match at the No. 1 position with Team Spain partner, Tania Moreno Mateeva, where they went 27-9 for the season. The Álvarez/Moreno duo was one of the top pairings in the country; They were the first pairing in TCU program history to be awarded AVCA Pair of the Week (Feb. 27-28), first in program history to be awarded All-CCSA Freshman Team honors and All-CCSA 1st team honors, set program records for most wins by a freshman pairing (previously 26 wins), and set program record for most ranked wins by a freshman pair.
Álvarez won five matches in her first season of collegiate action before the season was cut short due to the pandemic.