MonzaThe new year for the women of Ferro Foli Monza begins with an important novelty. Dana Ritke, 207cm US center, is a new NCAA title winner, who was MVP last season with the Wisconsin Badgers, and the only player to be named five times in a row (from 2017 to 2021) to the All-American Team roster. The top national players will be selected by the AVCA, until the end of the season. The purchase of the new Monza, which will be available to technician Marco Gaspari as soon as bureaucratic practices allow, has been snatched away from unbridled competition at the international level. The numerous accolades that the NCAA won in five years, both individually and as a team, adorned with the gold medal with the US National Team first in the 2019 Volleyball Nations League, in fact confirm his current and future talent.
Transporter-
Born and raised in Riverside, Illinois, Rettke approached the age of 15 in volleyball, at the suggestion of his mother and friend, after trying basketball. At Riverside Brookfield High School, where he graduated in 2017, Ritke began playing central, moving into her fourth-year role as the hitter receiver: an experience the player herself considers central to her growth in volleyball. After graduating, he attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the title of the company’s marketing, where he graduated in 2020 and joined the Badgers volleyball team in 2017. Together with a representative of his university, he buys prizes at the individual level, which leads him to his first NCAA title in history after losing two finals thanks to success 3-2 over Nebraska in the Columbus Final in 2021. He scored a Super in the game that earned him the league title, scoring 13 personal walls, earning him the NCAA MVP award and his fifth consecutive inclusion in this year’s Ultimate All-America Series. Strong in attack and blocking, thanks to his height as well, Rettke was also part of the United States national volleyball team in 2018, being called up in May 2019 by Kiraly to play the Volleyball Nations League in Nanjing, China. Five entries, marked by this quality, supported Team USA to win the gold medal. Also in the same year, Ritke and his national team participated in the Olympic qualification tournament, where the United States grabbed a pass for Tokyo, and later won the gold medal in Japan in the summer of 2021. Career: In Italy Monza awaits to experience the adventure in both the A1 Women’s Series and the Champions League Europe CEV.
words Dana Ritke-
“I can’t wait to get to Italy for my first experience as a professional. I’ve been to Milan in the past and I must say it’s a beautiful place that I can now call my new home. Ferro Foli Monza is a great club, at the top of national volleyball and not only wanting to aspire to important goals. I will try to pursue the same goals of my new team with great enthusiasm. I think the city, the colleagues, the team and all the staff are doing very well in my first season in Europe. All the people I spoke to about True Volleyball spoke very well of this reality. Goals? I hope to be part of the US Olympic roster one day, but what I care about right now is to play to the maximum and get to the key stages with the team. I can’t wait to dive into this exciting new adventure.”
Sports Director Claudio Bonatti’s words.
« I am so glad Dana chose to come to us. An athlete with great prospects, and one of the final seasons of the NCAA Championship, she’s fresh on winning not only the title with her team but also the MVP award. We’ve been following her for some time now and bringing her to Italy is a huge relief. With her we will be able to get a huge plus for the end of the season, the moment when the most important dates will be played. ».
“Introvert. Avid gamer. Wannabe beer advocate. Subtly charming zombie junkie. Social media trailblazer. Web scholar.”
