TEMPE, Ariz.—Arizona State University’s head volleyball coach Stevie Mussie announced on Monday that Sanja Tomasevic will join the coaching staff as an assistant coach for the upcoming season.
“I think the most important thing when assembling a staff, what I’ve always been told, is to hire people that you trust,” Mussie said. “There’s no one more I trust than Sanja and Chris (Rose). I couldn’t be more excited with her coming here, she’s very familiar with the Phoenix area and has some really good ties around the country as well.”
Tomasevic joins the Sun Devils after two years at the University of Miami, where she helped the Hurricanes to their seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. 2015 also marked their second straight season with 20-plus wins.
“First I’d like to thank Ray Anderson and the Sun Devil senior administration for this opportunity,” Tomasevic said. “I’m really excited to be back in the Pac-12, excited to be in Phoenix. I love Stevie, we’ve always been very good friends and I’m so excited to have this chance to work with her again. I’m also really excited to work with these girls, they seem like a really fun bunch. They want to get better and they want to have fun while getting better. I’ve been them for one practice so far, but I’m amazed that while they’re having fun, they’re improving, which is exciting.”
Tomasevic came to Miami from Texas-San Antonio (UTSA). She spent two seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Roadrunners after successful professional and collegiate volleyball careers.
“She will also serve as our recruiting coordinator, and I know she’s going to crush it,” Mussie said. “Her ability to recruit isn’t just in the states, not just in Arizona, but she has a lot of ties internationally which will also be a nice addition to the program.”
The Serbia native played eight years professionally, including the last two as a co-captain of POMI Casalmaggiore in Italy. She was named to four All-Star Games and was named the Best Server at the 2010 European Challenge Cup. She won three league championships, including back-to-back Greek titles with Panathinaikos in 2009 and 2010.
“Obviously I’m from Serbia, and I played on the national team for a while,” Tomasevic said. “I also played for eight years professionally, so I’ve made a lot of friends, a lot of connections. We look forward to bringing the best kids out there, nationally and internationally, to the program. We’re lucky to be in Arizona, which is one of the hot beds of talent right now. There are a lot of good kids in the area, and we want to keep them here, stay at home, and have their friends and families watch them play while in college. It is something I wish I had that when I was in college. It’s always neat when you have the chance to play in front of your support group.”
A two-time All-American and the 2005 Asics and CVU.com National Player of the Year at Washington, Tomasevic led the Huskies to four NCAA tournament appearances, including the 2005 National Championship, and a pair of Pac-10 Conference titles.
The former outside hitter ended her collegiate career as Washington’s all-time leader in points (2,159.5), kills (1,795) and service aces (156). She is one of only three players in Huskies history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs.
Tomasevic graduated from Washington in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in communications.