As a redshirt for the 2006 season, junior Gorana Maricic could do nothing but practice for the Ducks. Now, barely a month into her first competitive play since 2005, head coach Jim Moore is having fun showing off what he’s known all along.
“That kid is as good as they come and she’s just plain good,” said Moore about the promising junior. “So if somebody wants to call it a breakout season, then maybe, since I don’t know of anybody who’s better offensively.”
When asked to clarify, Moore responded, “In the country.”
As head coach of Northern Michigan from 2003-2004, Moore first spotted the junior outside hitter while coaching against Maricic’s Northwood University squad, where she piled up accolades like they were going out of style. In only two years, she was named a 2005 American Volleyball Coaches Association second team All-American, Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Regional Player of the Year, AVCA National Player of the Week, GLIAC Freshman of the Year and first team All-Conference.
Maricic is now expected to help, along with sophomore Sonja Newcombe, to fill the offensive gap left by the transfer of fellow Serbian Mira Djuric, who transferred to Florida State. Djuric ranked second in the conference last season in service aces with 44. Maricic has already had an impact, leading the team in attacking, kills, points per game and is second in digs through nine matches, all wins.
While Moore is quick to mention that Newcombe is unquestionably the emotional leader of the team, he is also keen to talk about Maricic’s offensive promise.
“There’s no lie that Sonja’s the person who’s running the show. Gorana is our best offensive player, but Sonja and Katie (Swoboda) have just sort of taken over in terms of, ‘This is where we’re going.’ Gorana is the best offensive player, and Sonja is the all-around player.”
Maricic came from Serbia to Northwood after playing club and national team volleyball in Serbia for three years. Soft spoken off the court, Maricic lives with fellow Serbs Nevena Djordjevic and Marija Milosevic in Eugene. Despite living in the United States for four years, she still can’t understand why American coffee is so bad compared to her Turkish variety.
“Every time someone goes back home I have them get some Turkish coffee. It’s so much different,” laughed Maricic. “Your coffee is basically water to me-it’s really light to me so I have to bring coffee from back home.”
Despite feeling a little overwhelmed at times, her play has been stellar. Against Rutgers on Sept. 8, Maricic’s 17 points dominated the overmatched Scarlet Knights with a combination of both deft drop shots and booming kills – one of which catching an out-of-position Rutgers defender on the collarbone for a winner.
Her play has caught the attention of opponents, including Rutgers head coach Orlando Gonzalez.
“She’s got physical tools as well as skill. That’s the attractiveness of some of the foreign players, because there are a lot of great athletes in the U.S. but to get a great athlete with a great deal of skill like that is a great combination. She’s definitely going to be a difficult player for the Pac-10 to handle. I don’t care if she came from Division II or not, that kid’s a helluva player.”
Maricic isn’t one to guard her emotions on the court, either, whether it means grimacing after an errant spike, chatting up her teammates between points or fist-pumping after winners.
“She does a lot of great things but what it becomes now is who’s the most disciplined. It’s about coming up different things,” said Moore. “She played well, but you’ve got to make sure that she can play defensively.”
Whether Maricic can match her defensive game to her offensive game is a question that will play a large part in how well the Ducks finish in Pacific-10 Conference play. Maricic understands the need to improve, as well.
“I still need to work on my blocking and my defense. That’s the thing that concerns me. I still think I can do much better than where I’m at.”
She believes her redshirt year helped her gain defensive confidence, however.
“I gained so much being redshirted. It sucked having to sit out the year but I think that I proved a lot on the net and defensively.”
She’ll also have to prove her leadership abilities alongside Newcombe and junior libero Katie Swoboda, who Moore tagged as his two leaders. As the year began, she was admittedly having trouble getting used to the speed of the game again while still building chemistry with the returning starters.
“I needed time, it was kind of frustrating, to just feel comfortable around everybody on the court, on that side of the court,” said Maricic. “We started [2007] and I didn’t know what was going on, maybe just because I didn’t play for two years but maybe I was frustrated and scared a little bit.”
Ducks fans are hoping that the trio can parlay their fast start into another postseason NCAA tournament bid. The players certainly expect it to be so.
“Maybe I’m not as good of a leader as Sonja Newcombe in terms of talking a lot, but I need to just do it and prove it,” said Maricic. “I know there’s probably going to be a lot of pressure on me but I’m ready for it.”