Lady Trailblazers volleyball adds international player - External Relations
Lady Trailblazers volleyball adds international player
March 14, 2019 / Lady Trailblazers volleyball adds international
player
LINK to photo of Olga Vasovic, click
HERE
VINCENNES, Ind. - The Vincennes University volleyball team
recently added another piece to its puzzle for the 2019 season.
Trailblazer Coach Gary Sien has confirmed Olga Vasovic of
Belgrade, Serbia, has made her pledge to the Trailblazer volleyball program.
Vasovic is the daughter of Goran and Snezana Vasovic and plans
to major in economics while at VU.
“Olga is someone who can play in all six rotations and can play
well on both the left and right sides,” Sien stated. “We really like
her skill set and think she will fit right in with our program.”
Vasovic is a 6-foot-1 outside hitter which adds to the plethora
of hitters Sien will have at his disposal this upcoming season.
“We do not really lose a whole lot from last year’s team as we
bring back the bulk of our offense,” the coach said. “We bring back
eight players and six of them are hitters. So in addition to this
recruiting class we should have 10 or 11 hitters/blockers to work with.”
Sien mentioned his program likes to bring in players who can
add more than just one element to the program. With Vasovic accustomed
to playing within the international rules, it helped mold her into the
type of player Sien looks for in his recruits.
“In the U.S. in college you get to have 15 substitutions,
whereas in international you only have six substitutions (per se), so
if you go in and out you are done,” the VU coach explained. “So it
helped hone her into an all-around player. She can play the back row
just as well as the average sized back-row player.”
Vasovic also comes from an athletic family. Her father was a
member of the Serbian National Basketball Team during his junior years
and played for an elite Serbian team called Partizan before injuries
mounted to halt his playing. Her older sister, Sonjaa Vasovic, played
NCAA Division I volleyball at Siena College and was part of the 2014
team that won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference title. Sonja was
also named to the MAAC All-tournament Team in 2014 and is currently a
graduate assistant coach at Chicago State University.
Sien noted that having her older sister in the United States,
plus the success of the VU program over the past couple of years, are
reasons VU appealed to Olga.
“With her sister being over here already, she is familiar with
the programs in the U.S.,” Sien said. “And I just think with what we
have been able to do these last three years and being in [NJCAA]
Division I helps. We also have the reputation of recruiting
international and we have been getting just an incredible amount of
response to potential international recruits.
“Word of mouth is really doing a lot for our program,” Sien concluded.
Olga contacted the VU program through email in which she sent
video of her playing. Sien mentioned the two have had several
conversations through Skype and her English language skills are
already exceptional.
Olga is currently a member of the Dunav Volleyball Club in
Belgrade. Club coach Vladimir Milosevic spoke highly of the future Trailblazer.
“She competes at both junior and senior levels,” Milosevic
said. “She can be utilized as an outside hitter due to her consistent
serve/receive as well as right-side hitter where she can show off her
powerful swing and strong blocking ability. She is a well-trained,
skilled player who can contribute to the team in many areas.”
In addition to her skills on the court, both her club coach and
future coach at VU stated Olga is just as great off the court.
“She has many different qualities as a person,” Milosevic said.
“She is responsible, always a positive attitude, a great leader, and
just a hard working individual who is persistent and committed to success.”
Sien added, “She is someone who is very goal-oriented and she
knows what she wants to do and is using her volleyball skills to come
over here and achieve those. She is very serious about her studies and
we just feel like she is going to be a great fit here.”
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LINK to VU Online Newsroom, click HERE
LINK to VU
Athletics, click HERE
MARCIA MARTINEZ, Sports Information Director & University
Life Reporter
812-888-4164 office, 314-599-1519 cell,
VUNews@vinu.edu, mmartinez@vinu.edu
VINCENNES UNIVERSITY,
Department of University Relations, www.vinu.edu/newsroom