From the very first moment she stepped onto Penn’s campus, junior right-side hitter Bella Rittenberg knew she found a home within Penn volleyball.
Under the leadership of coach Tyler Hagstrom, and consistent performances from Rittenberg, Penn volleyball finished at an improved 12-12 this season, accounting for a 6-8 record in the Ivy League.
Just two years ago, Rittenberg stepped off the court after her freshman year debut with a very different feeling – the team earned only four wins during the 2023 season. A change this drastic was not something that transpired overnight. With the new hiring of coach Hagstrom in 2025 and a new wave of recruits, the scene started to shift.
“A culture of discipline, hard work, love of the sport, commitment, all that, I feel like really started to build,” Rittenberg said. “And you could see that on and off the court.”
Rittenberg has excelled thus far during her volleyball career at Penn, acquiring a total of 442 kills and 296 digs through three years of competition. In high school, she accounted for over 1,000 kills and 1,500 digs, reflecting the countless hours that went into perfecting her craft.
At only five years old, Rittenberg found herself with a volleyball in her hands, which evolved into a large part of her life. Daily practices after long days of middle and high school academics and deep involvement on Amateur Athletic Union volleyball teams served to be a large time commitment through her youth athletic experience. But those long hours didn't seem so long because of the people she met and the memories she made along the way.
“I don't even remember most of the volleyball, to be completely honest,” Rittenberg said. “What I remember, truly, is just the fun times I had with my teams, and going to tournaments [and] laughing.”
In her transition from high school volleyball to college athletics, Rittenberg remembered the fond times she had with her teammates and strove to find something similar. Along with high collegiate athletic and academic standards, she was looking for a community and strong team bonds that extended beyond the court. Once she attended a volleyball camp at Penn, she did not have to look much further.
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“I didn't see a lot of schools, but I didn't need to, because I honestly found the perfect place,” Rittenberg said. “I just found such a good culture that I really liked. … There was everything I wanted here. So there's just no other option. And I knew right then and there, I wanted to be part of Penn.”
Everything that Rittenberg was looking for extends far beyond just the world of volleyball. She is enrolled in Penn’s School of Nursing, meaning that not only is she tasked with being a leader on the volleyball team, but she must also tirelessly pursue her dream of helping others and the academic work that comes along with nursing. Such a workload requires an intricate balancing system.
“[It] just takes a lot of will; the will to stay up later … the will to push through the tiredness,” Rittenberg said. “I'm also doing things that I love … it’s not really a sacrifice in my eyes.”
Pure love for her sport, her career, and her teammates is what drives Rittenberg to be the best that she can be in so many different walks of life. In such varying areas where a solid support system is helpful, Rittenberg has found the perfect one for her. Both on and off the court, she finds incredible value in the relationships she has formed with her teammates.
“I feel like we don't really have to try that hard to be good friends. We just all genuinely enjoy being with each other," Rittenberg said.
Through the trials that such a loaded schedule at Penn is bound to bring, Rittenberg often thinks back to something her mother would say.
“Nothing worth anything comes easy.”
Sporting number 16, Rittenberg will return to Penn volleyball one last time next fall for her senior season to take a bow on her stellar volleyball career.
