DENVER - Former University of Denver volleyball standout Becca Latham spent this past season in Italy competing professionally following her senior season with the Pioneers in 2018.

Latham was a two time-All-Summit League selection in her time as a Pioneer and helped lead DU to its fifth straight NCAA tournament appearance in 2018 before beginning her stint with the Italian team Futura Volley Giovani in 2019.

We caught up with Latham to find out more about her time in Italy and how Denver prepared her to compete at the next level.  

Have you enjoyed your professional volleyball experience and living in Italy?

Yes, I've enjoyed it a lot. I've really enjoyed living in Italy, and on top of that having volleyball be my job is a dream come true. I miss America but it's been so cool to live in Italy and be a part of every day culture. I've also learned quite a bit of Italian which is cool because I can understand people when they're taking. Playing volleyball in Italy has given me the chance to compete at a very high level while being able to put all of my focus toward getting better every day and that's something that I enjoy a lot. 

How did your college career at the University of Denver prepare you for the pros?

It's prepared me in a lot of ways from strength training to practices to matches. I think that all of my coaches at DU prepared me for this because at DU we didn't just focus on physicality, we also focused on mentality and having a growth mindset. The mentality here is very important because I have to be open to learning new techniques and working with new challenges that are brought to me and facing them with motivation and excitement is something that I can do thanks to DUVB.

It's really cool to be able to give so much of my focus to volleyball and compete at a high level. I would've never gotten this opportunity without the University of Denver and Tom (Hogan) so even now I have moments where I just stop and feel so grateful for this experience because its something I've wanted to do since I was a "little" freshman in high school. 

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