Serbian outside hitter Gorana Maricic is in her final year at the University. In her first year with the Ducks she led the Pacific-10 Conference in kills per set with 5.50, and earned her second vote to the All-American ranks. This year, she again leads the team in kills with 4.16 per set, and in last week’s win over Oregon State, Maricic had a team-high 13 kills.
Oregon Daily Emerald: What are you going to do after this year?
Gorana Maricic: I’m really looking forward to my professional volleyball life. I’m hoping I can get with a good team. I mean, it scares me as much as it excites me, but we’ll see. I don’t know. There are still options between Puerto Rico and Europe.
ODE: What are you majoring in?
GM: Political science. It’s really boring. The thing is, I was never interested in politics at all. Serbia and the former Yugoslavia were all messed up and I never paid attention to what was going on or understood. But now I understand what was happening back then and now. Now, I’m more interested in politics than I’ve ever been and I’m actually calling home to talk to my parents about it.
ODE: Do you have any pre-game rituals?
GM: I like to calm down, but I also like to listen to music that makes me happy. Or I like going to a pre-game meal with the team, or doing my hair and nails. I just recently started wearing a bow in my hair and it makes me happy; I’ve never done it before but like half the team does it so I decided I should too.
ODE: What do you like to do when you’re not playing volleyball?
GM: I just like doing normal things like watching movies and hanging with friends. For some reason I like “The Eye” with Jessica Alba, but I’m really into movies based on real events, like “Remember the Titans.” It really doesn’t matter about the type, though.
ODE: Favorite volleyball moment?
GM: There are a lot of them, but I’m just glad I came here. I think all the moments from here. There’s no one moment.
ODE: Most embarrassing moment on the volleyball court?
GM: One time, back home in Serbia, I came in the middle of a set and finished playing the set. But then when the second set started, coach said that we were going to go with the starters from the first set. For whatever reason I didn’t understand, and I was standing out on the court with the real starters when I realized I wasn’t supposed to be out there. People were like, ‘Oh, there are way too many players.’ I was so embarrassed!
ODE: What motivates you?
GM: The win motivates me. Before, I was more worried too much about stats and whether or not I would have a good game, but right now I know it doesn’t matter. The win is important, and it doesn’t matter whether or not you play well, but rather that the team wins.
BEN SCHORZMAN
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