
The UW legend will be continuing her volleyball career at one of the top clubs in Italy.
Earlier this week, Wisconsin Badgers volleyball legend and national champion Dana Rettke announced that she had signed with Italian club Vero Volley Monza to continue her volleyball career. For those unfamiliar with Italian geography, Monza is a town just outside of Milan in the Lombardy region of Italy. If you are an F1 fan, which all of Sports Twitter seems to be now, Monza hosts the Italian Grand Prix annually.
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Welcome @dana_rettke See you soon in Monza! #VV #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/iKfBaVVqPG
— Vero Volley Monza (@VeroVolleyMonza) January 4, 2022
If my rudimentary research, and non-existent knowledge of Italian, is correct, it seems like the top flight of women’s volleyball in Italy, Lega Pallavolo Serie A Femminile, is where Vero Volley plays their matches. They are halfway through the season and currently sit in third place with a 9-3 record. Their next match, and possibly the first one that Rettke would play in, is on Sunday, Jan. 9.
️ GREETINGS FROM DANA
“I’m super-excited to come to Italy for my first pro experience! …@verovolleymonza is a great team, they compete really hard and they are at the top of the A1 League…”
We can’t wait to meet you, @dana_rettke #VV #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/Pjaf9Iuhgo
— Vero Volley Monza (@VeroVolleyMonza) January 4, 2022
You are probably familiar with her accolades, but this past season Rettke became the first player to be named a five-time first-team All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. She led the Big Ten Conference and ranked No. 6 nationally with a .430 hitting percentage and ranked No. 5 nationally with an average of 1.43 blocks per set. She has multiple program records at UW, including the all-time blocking record with 751 total blocks, points recorded with 2,333 and she posted the best career hitting percentage at .418.
Her bio on the Vero Volley website also mentions:
Individual Awards
2017 – Big Ten Freshman of the Year
2017 – AVCA National Freshman of the Year
2019 – Big Ten Player of the Year
2019-20 – Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year
2x AVCA National Player of the Week
12x Big Ten Player of the Week
7x Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week
5x AVCA First Team All American (record)
2021 AVCA National Player of the Year
Hopefully Rettke was paying attention when UW teammate Gio Civita, a native of Milan, was giving Italian lessons over the past two years.