Rosenthal Reflects on Third USAV National Team Experience

MILWAUKEE--It was the third consecutive summer that Jenna Rosenthal had a volleyball experience in a different country. The redshirt senior earned a spot on the 12-person U.S. Women's Collegiate National Team China Tour roster and experienced playing in China for the second time in her career after being a member of the CNT-China squad in 2016.

Along with fellow BIG EAST player, Creighton's Taryn Kloth, Rosenthal and the rest of the team traveled to Shanghai in late May to begin the journey. While abroad, the squad played five matches against teams in the top divisions of the Chinese Volleyball league. CNT-China visited Shanghai, Jiashan, Pinghu City and Beijing and earned a 4-1 record in those competitions.

"Having been a part of the College National Team program for four years, I can say that this trip was my most memorable experience and perhaps the most valuable to me," Rosenthal stated. "The elements of learning to come together as a team in a matter of days, of adapting yourself to a totally different country and feeling the pride of wearing USA across your chest contribute to a remarkable adventure. The camaraderie and bond we built among the players will last much longer than our brief trip."

While in China Rosenthal and her teammates had multiple chances for training, but also took many chances to sightsee around the country and had an opportunity to host a kid's clinic at a local school in Nanjing.

"The most memorable personal cultural interaction was our visit to the primary school in Nanjing," Rosenthal said. "We put on a clinic for the kids there and they were perfect little angels! One girl in my group, seven-year old Elsa, wouldn't leave my side the entire afternoon. She had the cutest little smile and loved to tell me all about how much she liked her school, volleyball and playing piano. Each girl brought a gift; Elsa gave me a watercolor she made in art class. Later, when we ate dinner with the children, she jumped up and grabbed my hand and pulled me over to her table immediately."

CNT-China's lone loss on the court came in the first of two matches against Zhejiang. Helping her squad to a victory in match two, Rosenthal turned in an 11-point performance with eight kills on 13 attacks and three blocks.

"My favorite on court memory would have to be playing the match in Jiasan against Zhejiang in front of the crowd," said Rosenthal. "Representing your country is a honor and the opportunity to be able to play the game that we all love in a far off land is a dream for many, but only a few of us get to experience it."

There were many notable differences between playing volleyball in college and having a taste at the professional life and CNT-China learned to adapt to any situation and play hard no matter what the circumstance.

"I took away many lessons about being flexible and open to whatever changes came our way," Rosenthal noted. "Traveling and playing internationally means that the strictly regimented itineraries and procedures of our college teams are a thing of the past. As a player, you must be ready for whatever new wrinkle which can cause the plan to change, but you have to be ready to adapt and continue to perform at the top of your game."

Back in the United States and looking towards her final year wearing a Marquette uniform Rosenthal is excited about what lies ahead for the Golden Eagles as the squad returns all six starters from last season and looks to earn their eight-straight NCAA Tournament berth.

"I think we have an opportunity to go further than Marquette Volleyball has ever gone before," said Rosenthal. "We have a great team and a strong returning group after losing just one player and we have three awesome freshmen that I think can really make some noise in the gym and in the BIG EAST."

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Rosenthal Reflects on Third USAV National Team Experience

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