Ali Verzani
Ali Verzani
Height: 5-10
Year: 2021
Hometown: Sioux City, Iowa
Position: Outside Hitter
Team: Volleyball
Award: Woman of the Year

A senior outside hitter, Verzani was a model student in the classroom and dominant force on the volleyball court throughout her three-year career at Tech after transferring in from Iowa Western Community College in 2018.

The Sioux City, Iowa native carried a 3.8 GPA while earning her bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies in December 2019 and followed it up with a perfect 4.0 GPA while collecting her master's in business administration in May 2021. Verzani was a member of the Athletic Director's Honor Roll in each of her six semesters at Tech and a two-time member of the Ohio Valley Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll.

She also claimed the OVC Scholar Athlete of the Year award for 2020-21, the highest honor that can be earned by an OVC student-athlete. Additionally, she earned the OVC Academic Medal of Honor twice. 

Verzani was constantly involved around campus and the community in her time at Tech, serving as an academic tutor, teacher's assistant, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee vice president, team captain, and more. She participated in numerous community service and outreach opportunities and was a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and Chi Alpha campus ministry.

In her three seasons on the hardwood, the outside hitter racked up 899 kills, 775 digs, 114 blocks, and 1,057 total points. As a junior, she was selected as a member of the All-OVC First Team. During her senior campaign, she led the team in kills, service aces, and points while placing second in the league in aces.

Verzani represented the ninth member of the Golden Eagle volleyball team to be named Woman of the Year, joining the likes of Bonnie Zoss (1993), Rachel Melchiorre (1998), Diane Seng (2000), Laura Sidorowicz (2005), Anne Morrow (2006), Kappy Lang (2009), Teresa Craig (2010) and Susie Jeziorowski (2019).