Wisconsin volleyball: Kelly Sheffield hits up the transfer portal for new libero [UPDATE]

While everyone is still unsure of there being a volleyball season this fall, the Wisconsin Badgers aren’t just sitting around waiting for the announcement, they are going out and improving their team. The 2019 national runners up have snagged former Wichita State libero Giorgia Civita (Milan, Italy) from the transfer portal, according to a tweet from the Wisconsin State Journal’s Dennis Punzel.

As the tweet mentions, Civita missed all of last season with a knee injury but she was a preseason all-AAC pick for 2019 after having a first team all-AAC season in 2018 and being named the conference’s best libero to boot. During her redshirt sophomore season she surpassed 1,000 career digs, ranking No. 7 on the Wichita State career digs list with 1,448, and she is also the career leader in digs per set at 5.25. Civita was also named second team all-AAC in 2017 during her redshirt freshman campaign.

Civita already used her medical hardship waiver for a redshirt in 2016, and while I’m not 100% sure on how volleyball transfer rules work I understand them to be the same as all other NCAA rules (read: stupid), so she should only have one year of eligibility remaining in Madison. Civita is the second transfer that the Badgers have taken on this offseason.

Hailing from Milan, Italy, Civita had a decorated career racking up honors for the Italian national team like being named Best Libero at European Championship Tournament, while playing for the U18 Squad in 2013 in Belgium. Civita is also already 23 years old and should bring a veteran presence to the Badgers when she’s eligible to play.

UPDATE 7/17/20, 7:54 am CST: The volleyball team sent out an official release announcing Civita’s transfer to Wisconsin. Here are some quotes from head coach Kelly Sheffield.

“Giorgia is a baller. She loves the game and she loves being in the gym,” Sheffield said. “One of the things that jumps out at you while watching her play is her ability to read the game. She has a lot of range in serve receive and has really nice touch and feel. Defensively she also covers a lot of real estate.

“She’s been out for a good portion of the past year, but she has a lot of experience playing the game and has the ability to help us out at some point. I’m looking forward to getting a chance to work with her.”

And here is some further info on her prep career in Italy: As a prep, Civita played for club team Unendo Yamamay Busto Arisizio in the province of Varese, being named best libero of Italy twice. She was also named the best libero of the Lombardia region for five years. Civita competed with the Italian U18 National Team, being named the Best Libero at the European Championship in 2013 and at the U18 Italian National Championships in 2014.