The RoundHouse | 10/12/2017 11:25:00 AM

By Paul Suellentrop

Giorgia Civita learned Wichita State volleyball on a brown napkin, unfolded on a table with the crease serving as the net, and a fork as the guide.
 
"If there was anything in practice she didn't understand, she would ask me in the cafeteria and we would sit there with napkins, drawing out little pictures," Shocker senior Mikaela Raudsepp said. "You unfold the napkin and lay it on the table. I used my fingers for blockers."
 
Civita, a libero from Milan, Italy, didn't understand much of what people said in the early months of her freshman season at Wichita State. The language barrier didn't stop her from earning the starting job before a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee ended her season after 11 matches.
 
A year later, she says almost all the spoken instructions in practice and games meant nothing to her.
 
"I didn't know what was going on," she said.
 
Assistant coach Sean Carter communicated strategy with pictures, arrows and X's on a white board. She nodded and said "Yes" even when she didn't understand.
 
"It was very remedial, because there were so few things we could say," Carter said. "You kind of hoped she was getting what you were saying, but you didn't really know."
 
Civita conducted her first media interview using Google translator on her phone. Teammates joked that if she didn't understand much English, she had no hope to understand coach Chris Lamb's extensive and unique volleyball lingo. Raudsepp helped so much Civita considers her a motherly figure in her United States life.
 
"She was always with me, because she has the patience to explain," Civita said. "I don't know if I could do it without Mika."
 
No. 22 Wichita State (14-3, 6-0 American Athletic Conference) plays SMU (12-5, 6-0) at 7 p.m. Friday at Koch Arena with first place in the conference on the line.
 
Civita's natural skill, instincts and training got her through the early months of her Shocker career. As a sophomore, she combines those talents with a command of the language and the lingo.
 
"She caught on real fast," Lamb said. "I don't even know if I've noticed any kind of a language thing since last spring."
 
Civita ranks second in the American with an average of 5.42 digs a set. She twice earned conference defensive player of the week honors. The volleyball smarts and experience against high-level opponents in Italy that stood out on video translated immediately to the college game. She is expert at reading attackers and handling hard-hit balls. With confidence in the language, she is growing into a leader.
 
"She barks out orders every day now," Lamb said. "You want Gio talking."
 
On Thursday, Civita practiced early with assistant coach Austin Hosto to work on positioning. Wichita State's defensive schemes often require her to patrol an area and rely on teammates to cover the rest of the court. She is used to running from side to side to dig shots, sort of like a center fielder who ranges into right field to catch baseballs.
 
"It's been tough for her to be contained like this," Lamb said. "And we've opened some things up to play right into her strengths. But, depending on the hitters we're playing, there are some things we feel we need to do and she's got to opt in."
 
In Italy, Civita read attackers, moved and dug. She is used to moving toward the net aggressively to search out the most difficult spikes. For the Shockers, there are times she needs to stay back to maintain the integrity of the defense.
 
"It was more of a free system, not rules to follow," she said. "Here, we have a bunch of rules, that, to be honest, I didn't know existed when I came here … you need to be in the right spot. That's a challenge for me."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.