Having two Marquette alumni as parents, and one as a college basketball player, sports and Marquette were always part of sophomore Caroline Dragani’s life. Dragani grew up in Brookfield, only a 20-minute drive from Marquette. Being so close to the city of Milwaukee was another reason why Marquette was a big part of Dragani’s life.
Both her parents, Patrick and Stephanie Dragani, graduated from Marquette.
Her father graduated in 1994, while her mother graduated in 1993. Her mother also played on the women’s basketball team from 1991-93.
Dragani thought it was really special to play for the college her parents had gone to, especially since she grew up as a Marquette fan.
“With both my parents being alums, that’s just how I was raised as a Marquette fan and so I think it’s really special to keep that in the family but also share and hear their experiences and (to) make my own,” Dragani said.
There was one other big influence on Dragani’s life growing up: faith being intertwined with school. She grew up receiving private Catholic education at Catholic Memorial High School, just down the road from Milwaukee in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
“I loved my private school education, it’s something my parents were very adamant about, sending me and my siblings to private school, and I think that something that is very special about it is that aspect of faith, which is rooted in every day and every class and I think that’ something that I really like at Marquette too,” Dragani said. “It’s just a big part of everyday life.”
Dragani said that both of her parents have been a big influence on her, supporting and pushing her to be better.
After high school, Dragani committed to Portland State, where she was the top-ranked first-year setter in the Big Sky Conference with 7.91 assists in the 2019 campaign. She started in 24 of 28 matches and ranked third on the Vikings with 2.14 digs per set.
“I really liked my time there, I made a lot of great friends, I loved the city of Portland and I loved being in Oregon,” Dragani said. “I honestly have some many great memories from my time there and it was a very hard decision to leave.”
Besides her faith, Dragani chose to leave Portland State because she wanted to “step outside” her comfort zone.
“I knew that I wanted to be part of an institution that had an intense athletic and academic experience,” Dragani said.
Head coach Ryan Theis was excited, not only for the talent she will bring to the volleyball program, but also to have a native of the Milwaukee area. Theis said that he was happy to have some “common tendencies,” between Dragani and her parents.
As for on the court, Theis says that Dragani has a good “volleyball IQ” and that she “loves to learn.”
“Learning is fun, she loves to learn, it’s fun for her being new is that everything we say is new and she has to learn it and so she’s really enjoyed that,” Theis said.
While not expected to get a lot of playing time, Theis said with there being a lot of setters on the roster for the next 11 months, he believes that the energy that she brings is much needed. The team, after already losing Sarah Rose to medical reasons, and with Hope Werch being a senior, was looking to add setter’s for the 2022 season.
“She’s a very calm presence, she is not our loudest, she is not gonna run around the court slapping everybody on the back, that is not her persona at all, she’s a very calming presence, doesn’t get rattled, you know what you are going to get from her day in and day out,” Theis said.
This story was written by Jackson Gross. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JacksonGross6.
