NCAA win at home special for Dragani, Marquette
This was why Caroline Dragani returned home to play volleyball at Marquette.
It’s actually worked out better than the former Catholic Memorial High School standout probably could have dreamed.
Dragani is seeing time on the court as a serving sub, and she had two aces in the Golden Eagles’ 25-20, 25-17, 25-17 victory over Ball State in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday at the Al McGuire Center.
MU was set to face Georgia Tech in the second round Friday at the Golden Eagles’ intimate on-campus arena.
It was MU’s first NCAA victory since 2019, and it was Dragani’s first taste of postseason success. What made it even sweeter was playing in front of 2,064 fans, including many familiar faces.
“It’s awesome to be home,” Dragani said. “I know we’re super pumped that we got the bid to be at home and that’s awesome.”
Dragani’s parents both attended MU, but she opted to attend Portland State after high school in 2019. She had success on the court as one of the best freshmen in the Big Sky conference, but it wasn’t the experience she was looking for and she transferred to MU in 2020.
“COVID just kind of threw everything into a loop,” said Stephanie Dragani, Caroline’s mother. “And then it just became very difficult to see that was where her future would be.
“She made the decision to come here. We questioned it. It was no pressure. This was her decision, not related to us being Marquette alums. But once it was her path that she chose, we were elated.”
Caroline thought she was also going to play basketball in college until she decided to pursue volleyball as a sophomore at Catholic Memorial.
“It’s a thrill to have her so close,” Stephanie said. “But it’s really more of a thrill to just see how happy she is in the Marquette community, in her academics and in her volleyball experience. It’s really everything you want your child to be experiencing in college.”