Pizzasegola provides Italian spark for USC
Family, trust and volleyball keep native Italian Alice Pizzasegola motivated and focused on the court.
Pizzasegola, an international relations major from Rivergaro, Italy, is the junior setter on the women’s volleyball team.
For Pizzasegola, college is a world away from her hometown. Coming from a town with just fewer than 7,000 people, Pizzasegola had to adjust to a university with more than 40,000 students. She also moved halfway across the world — just over 6,000 miles — to a place she had never been.
For most students, touring his or her future college is a must, but Pizzasegola’s only experience with USC came from many internet searches.
“I didn’t really know what to expect,” she said. “But I think I made the best choice I could ever make.”
Despite being in a foreign place for college, Pizzasegola was able to find comfort in former setter Hayley Crone, who graduated last year. When Pizzasegola was a freshman, Crone was a junior. Crone served as a mentor to her both on and off the court
“She was amazing to me,” Pizzasegola said. “She was like my big sister.”
Now a junior herself, Pizzasegola is doing the same with freshman setter Baylee Johnson. She sees Johnson as strong and hopes she’s giving her what’s essential.
“I’ll always be here for her if she needs anything,” Pizzasegola said.
As an upperclassman, Pizzasegola wants to be more than just a mentor to her fellow setter; she wants to be the teammate that everyone can trust.
“If [they] have a problem, [they] can come talk to me,” she said. “I really like listening to people.”
Pizzasegola sees this year’s team as a family. The team’s cohesiveness has helped bring them success.
Before every match, the setter has a specific moment when she is standing with her team on the court while the national anthem plays. She looks up at the American flag and her teammates around her and remembers why she is here. She said it serves as her motivation to leave everything out on the court.
“I should give my teammates, my family and myself the best effort to get what I want,” Pizzasegola said. “So I might as well just try as hard as I can.”
It’s more than just the team’s newfound motivation that is helping their success. Pizzasegola pointed out that the high level of trust between her teammates on the court is what fuels their dominance.
“It’s just like a circle of trust,” she said. “If I don’t trust my passer and don’t trust my hitter, I am not going to give my best set.”
By the way that Pizzasegola values her relationships and trust with her teammates, it’s no surprise how much she values her actual family as well.
Being so far from home, she rarely gets to see her family. She gets to travel back home twice a year: for Christmas after the season is over and in the spring after finals. Her parents, Tiziano and Roberta Pizzasegola, also have the chance to come out and see their daughter during the season.
Her dad comes out during Thanksgiving to spend the holiday with her. Her mom is a teacher, making it a bit harder for her to come out and watch her daughter, but she still finds the time.
She also has an older brother, Filippo. He was able to come out and visit her last spring for Pizzasegola’s birthday. He ended up liking USC so much that he said he could see himself coming out here to study for a master’s.
Away from the court, Pizzasegola loves spending her free time at the beach.
“I just love the water, it makes me really calm, relaxed and quiet,” she said.
From a young age, being in the water was a part of Pizzasegola’s life.
“My mom just threw me into the water,” Pizzasegola said. “I loved staying in.”
Though she doesn’t get many chances to get back in the pool — especially during the season — Pizzasegola was able to last spring. After practices, she would spend about 30 minutes swimming in the pool.
Around the age of 10, Pizzasegola wanted to play a sport where she could play on a team. And volleyball provided that for her.
“I realized I think I need to play with someone,” she said.
Though she continued to grow with volleyball, playing in the U.S. wasn’t something that Pizzasegola thought about until she met a volleyball player who went to Stanford and played professionally in Italy.
“It was really unexpected,” Pizzasegola said. “But what I found was really amazing.”
In her three years at USC, she’s come to learn the differences between Italian and American volleyball. In the U.S. — especially at USC — volleyball is treated as more than just a sport. Coaches place a greater emphasis on making sure their players are growing academically and as people rather than just in volleyball techniques. Pizzasegola values these contrasts.
“They’re trying to give you an education,” Pizzasegola said. “Not just in school,but for life.”
She said what really made her love playing volleyball at USC was the feeling that she wasn’t just playing for herself, but for her teammates and the Trojan Family.
“This feeling of spirit that you’re playing for your college,” Pizzasegola said. “It’s just like a big family.”
Pizzasegola has created some of her fondest memories during her time at USC, and with the team recently earning its top national rankings, she has her sights set high for both herself and her teammates.
“I know what being No. 1 means,” Pizzasegola said. “It’s probably the best feeling I’ve ever had volleyball-wise.”
Individually, she wants to keep improving and learning to read the game better. She believes her team can go quite far this season.
“We want to win the conference first,” Pizzasegola said. “Then the National Championship second.”
Though this team has the potential to have a big season, they’re taking it one point at a time. They’re focused on always staying on top of their game.
“It’s always fun in practice,” Pizzasegola. “We are always competing.”
The women’s volleyball team will next head out on the road to Colorado and Utah, hoping to keep their undefeated record and top ranking intact.