Serbian Super Seniors Extend Volleyball Careers

VB Players

The Governors State Women’s Volleyball team caught a break this season when veteran standouts Dunja Tatic and Ivana Novakovic decided to return for a fifth season of competition.

Both players took advantage of an extra year of eligibility that the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) put in place because of COVID-19. 

The term “Super Seniors” has been used to describe student-athletes playing a fifth season, since eligibility rules allow just four seasons. For Governors State, it means having the two best players in team history back for another year.

“Many athletes had the same opportunity to play a fifth year across the country and did not, Dunja and Ivana chose to come back. This says a lot about what GSU has to offer academically and athletically,” said GSU Head Coach Pete Gonzalez. “Having both athletes back on the court and in the classroom means a lot to us. They bring a wealth of experience which they can share, ultimately setting the tone for future student-athletes. It’s a great privilege for me to have had the opportunity of coaching them for five seasons.”

Hailing from Belgrade, Serbia, Tatic and Novakovic have earned accolades for their performance on the court and in the classroom.

Tatic is a four-time All-Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference selection, holding distinction as the only GSU student-athlete to earn all-conference honors that many times. She is the team’s career leader in every major statistical category, setting records that may never be broken. Tatic is on track to graduate this year with a degree in business administration. 

Novakovic recently became just the second GSU player to record 1,000 career kills, having joined the team the same year as Tatic in 2018. Novakovic graduated with an accounting degree and has begun taking graduate courses at GSU. She has been honored numerous times with academic honors from the CCAC and NAIA.

The Volleyball Jaguars have six home matches in October. For more information, check-out GSUJaguars.com.