She was called to the Cerro Pelado Training Center as one of the national team rookies at the age of 21. She later played the 2002 Cuban National League with the club Occidentales that became league champion with Ortiz's help, and only lost one match in the whole season. After the Cuban league, she joined the national team under the guidance of coaches Eugenio George, Luis Felipe Calderón and Jorge Garbey, set to a four-country warmup tour before the Pan American Cup. After beating the Dominican Republic 3-1, she won the 2002 Pan-American Cup gold medal. Shortly after that, she departed to the 2002 FIVB World Grand Prix in a competition where her national team ranked in seventh place. She was among the Cuban team called for the 2002 FIVB World Championship, in which she mostly played as substitute player. However, her team lost 0-3 to the United States in the quarterfinals and had to settle for playing the fifth to eight places round. After defeating Bulgaria 3-2, they won 3-2 over Korea to reach the tournament's fifth place.