Former University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB) volleyball star Danica Markovic [dah-KNEE-tzah MAR-co-vich] joined the UTRGV volleyball program as a graduate assistant during the fall of 2015.
Markovic played for current UTRGV head coach Todd Lowery at UTB from 2010-13 and is the program’s all-time leader in kills (1,607), aces (312), aces per set (0.66), attacks (3,823), attacks per set (8.01), and sets played (477), while ranking second in kills per set (3.37) and digs (1,288), fourth in hitting (.298) and total blocks (183), seventh in digs per set (2.70), and 10th in blocks per set (0.38). She also holds the single-season program records for aces (91) and aces per set (0.77), as well as the single-match record for aces (15).
Makrovic led UTB to the 2011 and 2013 NAIA National Championships as the team went 137-6 (.958) during her playing career. The 2010 and 2012 teams both reached the semifinals of the NAIA National Tournament.
For her efforts, Markovic was the 2013 NAIA National Player of the Year, the 2011 and 2013 NAIA National Tournament MVP, a three-time Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Player of the Year (2010, 2012, 2013), 2010 RRAC Freshman of the Year, and four-time All-Red River Athletic Conference selection. At one point in 2013, Markovic earned seven-straight RRAC Player of the Week awards.
Although Markovic continued to compete athletically in the fall of 2014 as a member of the UTB cross country team, she also began the transition to coaching, serving as a graduate assistant to Lowery and helping UTB to a 34-5 (.872) record and a berth in the NAIA National Championship Match.
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Originally from Subotica, Serbia, Markovic began playing volleyball when she was eight years old. She graduated from UTB with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications in 2014 and is currently working toward a Master of Education in Early Childhood Education at UTRGV.
