New Kansas volleyball coach Matt Ulmer has placed a significant emphasis on strengthening his team’s roster with international recruits.
Since the Jayhawks wrapped up their first spring with Ulmer at the helm in late April, KU has signed a trio of players from Central Europe, including most recently, and perhaps most notably, Jovana Zelenović on Friday.
Zelenović is a 6-foot-7 opposite hitter from Novi Sad, Serbia. She has won a club title with OK Železnicar and is currently competing for the Serbian national team in the Volleyball Nations League.
“Jovana is an impact player on both sides of the ball,” Ulmer said in a press release. “She has the ability to score at a high level when everyone knows the ball is going to her. Her block is very imposing to the opposition. She has a very sweet personality and she’s very excited about coming to Kansas. Our fans will really enjoy watching Jovana compete as a Jayhawk.”
The addition of Zelenović provides KU some much-needed size at the pin, as she will be the tallest player on the roster, but it also fills a need on the right side, where the Jayhawks would likely otherwise have been relying on players for whom opposite hitter is not necessarily their primary position (returnees Katie Dalton or Ellie Schneider, for example, or even Washington transfer Audra Wilmes).
Ulmer has now added seven players in total, first bringing in a trio of transfers in Wilmes, setter Cristin Cline (Oregon) and defensive specialist/libero Ryan White (Oregon State). He then added highly touted incoming freshman Logan Bell, a 5-foot-11 pin hitter who may play in the back row early in her career, following the example of Ulmer’s previous undersized outside hitter Brooke Nuneviller.
In recent months, he has bolstered KU’s depth and experience considerably with the additions of 6-foot outside hitter Selena Leban from Slovenia and 6-foot-4 middle blocker Aurora Papac from Croatia, as well as Zelenović. All three will be considered freshmen, though Leban and Papac are 20 and Zelenović is 21.
Of Leban, Ulmer said in a release, “Selena is extremely talented in every phase of the game, and we are so excited to welcome her to Kansas. She has competed against some of the best competition in the world and has thrived. Beyond that, Selena has a magnetic personality and great sense of humor which makes her a great fit for Kansas Volleyball.”
Of Papac, he added, “Aurora is a great addition to our program, and she comes to Kansas as one of the best blockers in the world for her age. She has a presence at the net that can have a large impact on a match. She has a great combination of length and quickness plus high-level international experience with her national team.”
The European additions will help flesh out a roster that is headlined by key returnees such as Reese Ptacek, a rising sophomore middle blocker who was the Big 12 freshman of the year, and libero Raegan Burns.
KU’s season begins on Aug. 23 against Vanderbilt, a brand-new team playing its first-ever match, in Lincoln, Nebraska.
