Knowing her love of volleyball wasn’t something that Danielle Carrozza thought about very often.
The senior outside hitter also known as Dani is one of the top performers for the reigning CSAC championship volleyball team.
Getting to Cabrini was not a straight shot for this CSAC championship MVP. She was inspired by her sister as a young girl and started playing the sport when she was seven.
“My best friend and I both were the youngest of our sisters who played volleyball together,” Carrozza said. “Naturally we went to their games and we would want to play around after school until one day we decided to join a 10 and under team.”
From then on, Carrozza was on a travel team playing volleyball as much as most people would be working in regular a week.
With that experience, it was a perfect fit when she attended one of the top volleyball schools in the state, Merion Mercy Academy.
Entering Merion as a freshman was a nerve-racking experience for Carrozza.
“I earned a starting spot on the varsity team as a freshmen and started all four years,” Carrozza said.
In her four years at Merion Mercy, she helped lead her team to the state tournament and won in back-to-back years in her junior and senior season. After high school, Carrozza knew she wanted to continue playing in college and always planned on playing division one volleyball.
“My junior year, I was offered a scholarship to play at Temple University,” Carrozza said.
However, her idea of being at a Division I school and playing such high level soon changed. By her sophmore year at Temple, she started to feel like she was losing her love for the sport she’s known her whole life, being on red-eye flights and in hotel rooms more then her own dorm room. She wanted that love to come back.
Playing volleyball at a tight-knit school such as Cabrini was the answer to her lost love. Closer to home and knowing the history of high-skill volleyball that Cabrini offered, she knew this was going to be her new home.
It didn’t take long for Carrozza to fit right in with the Lady Cavs.
“Dani is an exceptional player,” teammate Michelle Fitz said. “She is a threat on offense and works just as hard on defense. She’s just an intelligent player and consistent every game.”
Being consistent with only six girls on the court at a time is still a challenge. Working together as a team is the key to winning games.
Not only is her team supportive on the court but off the court her family is her rock. Every game, her parents, sisters, boyfriend and coaches are in the stands.
“I wouldn’t have made it this far in volleyball without them,” Carrozza said.
With the love from her support system, and the love of the game fully reformed, Carrozza is a force to be reckoned with on the court.
