CEDAR CITY, Utah - Coming out of their home countries of Italy and Argentina, Arianna Rossi and Victoria Zibecchi dreamed of continuing their volleyball careers at the Division I level in the United States. But as both women came to find out, the journey to the top wasn't easy.
Rossi, who hails from Bergamo, Italy, initially wanted to come to America as a foreign exchange student. After a chance meeting with an agency, she discovered a different path to the States that involved her passion for volleyball. After a long search that involved countless programs, Rossi eventually committed to NJCAA powerhouse Florida SouthWestern. "The thing that surprised me and made me choose FSW was when (Florida SouthWestern coach Thais Baziquetoo-Allen) said, I'm gonna work with you, I'm gonna do everything to make sure that you're gonna go D1 and also to make sure that we're gonna win here at FSW." Rossi said, "When she told me, come here, we are gonna win, and then I'm gonna work with you to make sure you can go D1, I said, okay, that's my place, and that's where I want to go."
Going into her second year with the Bucs, Rossi was joined by fellow future Thunderbird Victoria Zibecchi out of Villa Angela, Argentina. Together, the duo helped SouthWestern charge to a magical season in 2022, going 27-1 and winning the school's first-ever NJCAA National Championship. Following Rossi's departure, Zibecchi and the Bucs continued to dominate, losing just a single game once again in 2023 and securing their second straight championship.
Head Coach Kacey Nady on both players' recruitment:
"I've gone to the Junior College National Championships to see live talent for years and Vicky and Ari stood out among the nation's best. FSW has a culture of winning and producing great humans. I respect that program tremendously and feel blessed Ari and Vicky chose us to finish their careers."
Being a junior college, Florida SouthWestern only allows its players the opportunity to play for two seasons before needing to transfer to a four-year institution. When it came time for Rossi to pick another school, Southern Utah emerged as a frontrunner. "When I started to talk with Coach Kacey, from the first call, she didn't know me, but when we started to talk, and I started to open up with her, she told me how she trusted me, and that gave me a lot of confidence." Zibecchi also credits Coach Nady for her decision to come to Cedar City. "I was looking for something that would feel like home and almost the same way as I was at FSW. Coach Kacey really helped me with that; she has been honest with me since the first moment I met her."
With the Thunderbirds in the mix of a very competitive Western Athletic Conference, Arianna and Victoria expressed the importance of fans coming out and supporting the team: "Just keep believing in us and supporting us; that is the best thing they can do." Zibecchi said, "Supporting us is a great way to give us confidence." Rossi added, "We are working really hard every day to achieve our goals and go to the tournament. We are going to practice with this goal every day, and it's a team goal, so everybody is on the same page, and everybody wants to achieve it."
Up Next
Southern Utah will continue conference play as the team travels west to take on the California Baptist Lancers on Thursday, Oct. 24. The match is set to go at 8:00 p.m. MT and will be live on ESPN+.
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