Mira Djuric, the powerful hitter in Oregon’s volleyball lineup, almost never arrived in Eugene.
The exuberant hitter with a strong serve chose the University of New Orleans before help from a familiar face and the lure of Pacific-10 Conference competition drew her here.
Oregon landing Djuric, who leads the Pac-10 in service aces, is an important step in becoming a competitive program, coach Jim Moore said.
Moore completed a busy travel schedule this offseason with trips to Las Vegas, Omaha, Neb., and Australia. Moore expanded his recruiting to include Belgrade in Serbia and plans to visit more countries. His tripto Belgrade helped secure assistant coach Marko Majstorovic.
Prior to joining Oregon, Moore worked in the same conference as assistant coach and recruiter Nikola Petrovic. Petrovic took a job at the University of Alabama-Birmingham instead of Oregon, but told Moore about Majstorovic.
Moore e-mailed Majstorovic on a Monday. By Wednesday Majstorovic had paperwork and information necessary to come to the United States, he said. Majstorovic knew Djuric from her play with the Serbian Junior National Team. When she picked New
Orleans, he said he helped persuade her to attend Oregon instead.
Moore saw Djuric during his trip to meet Majstorovic and quickly became interested.
“Right then and there I obviously knew I would want her,” Moore said.
His visit made a big impression on Djuric.
“I was really doubting where I’m going to go,” she said. “I think that it really helped that he came, that he talked to me.”
Volleyball in Serbia is different than the United States. There are fewer club teams and players are weeded out at younger ages, Moore said. The benefit, he said, is they are playing at a high level and can make an immediate impact like Djuric did.
“We have a lot of players like Mira … they don’t have the idea of coming to the United States,” Majstorovic said of Belgrade. “If I’m here, if I call them – they will come.”
Oregon remained in the running for several top players in the United States after Moore became coach, but when decision time came, players chose programs like USC or UCLA instead of the Ducks.
“To get the same caliber of kid, we’re going to need to go international, and when we get better then we can start attracting the best kids in the United States,” Moore said.
Signing Neticia Enesi, Lindsey Stone and Sonja Newcombe provides tangible results of Moore and his staff’s recruiting efforts. Moore announced Wednesday the team had signed Nevena Djordjevic, who is from Serbia and Montenegro and played on Serbia’s junior national team.
“Nevena has tremendous experience,” Moore said.
Djuric’s presence in Oregon’s lineup is part of an influx of international talent that spreads across the Pac-10 and top volleyball teams in the nation. Washington has Sanja Tomasevic, USC has Bibiana Candelas and the list goes on.
Oregon and Djuric visit Washington State tonight and Washington Friday as part of the Ducks’ final road trip this season.
Friday is also a meeting with Washington’s four-year starter Tomasevic, also a Serbia native, who is the in Pac-10 top six for hitting percentage, kills, blocks and points.
The 6-foot-2 Djuric is a freshman, but her potential has allowed her to dominate parts of several matches. The flashes of dominance have helped Oregon come within points of upsetting No. 14 USC, No. 16 UCLA and rival Oregon State.
Against Oregon State Thursday, Djuric poured in a match-high 26 kills and a service ace in the five-game match. In the fifth game, she pulled Oregon into a 14-14 tie with consecutive kills. Oregon led 15-14 before Oregon State gained a point and then Djuric got an attack error and a blocked kill to end the match.
Promise of the things to come and freshman inexperience had collided within a matter of points.
“She’s got to cut her errors down, but that will come with time and that’s part of being a freshman,” Moore said.
The statistics show Djuric as tied for sixth in the Pac-10 in kills with 4.29 per game, first in service aces with .56 per game and fifth in points with 5.22 per game. Through Nov. 13, she is tied for 25th in the nation in service aces per game.
“I thought it’s not going to be so hard,” Djuric said of the Pac-10. “Some of the teams are really strong like they can compete with any team in Europe.”
Although Djuric came in as an acclaimed server from Europe, she has struggled with her serve since preseason play. Moore said he makes more subtle than sweeping changes and that he expects her to make the most progress this spring after the season has ended.
“She’s the best server I’ve seen ever for a woman ever,” said Moore, who has coached women’s volleyball for nearly 16 years.
Djuric had opportunities to turn professional, but chose college volleyball to focus on her education.
The benefits of college volleyball extend to playing within the Pac-10, one of the nation’s top conferences and McArthur Court. She said she remembers gyms in Serbia with five feet outside the court and small lockers compared to the vast size of the Ducks’ home court.
Then there is a new culture to adjust to and the rainy winters in Eugene.
“I miss my friends sometimes. I miss the lifestyle I had growing up,” Djuric said. “But it’s OK.”

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