The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Bozic Named Volleyball "Rising Star"
1/25/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Jan. 25, 2006
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- UAB freshman Ivana Bozic has been tabbed as a NCAA Volleyball "Rising Star" by Collegiate Volleyball Update after her stellar first season with the Blazers.
Bozic, a native of Arandjelovac, Serbia & Montenegro, was one of 14 freshmen in the country receiving the honor. The outside hitter wasted no time making her mark on Conference USA, as she was named third-team All-Conference USA and received C-USA All-Freshman team honors in 2005.
She led all conference players and was second in the nation among freshmen with a 0.63 service aces-per-game average. Bozic paced the UAB offense, leading the squad with 449 kills and 4.45 kills-per-game, good enough for sixth in the country among freshmen. She also contributed defensively, ranking third on the team with 2.75 digs-per-game. Her success in both phases of the game allowed her to record a team-best 14 double-doubles out of the 27 matches on the year, including three in a row to start her career.
Bozic also captured honors during the season, as she was named Most Valuable Player of the UAB Tutwiler Invitational. She led UAB to a 3-0 record with 59 kills (3.93 kills per game) and 12 service aces during that tournament. She went on to post a career high in kills against UNC Greensboro, finishing with 29 en route to a 3-1 UAB victory. She continued to shine in postseason play, finishing the season with a team-best 15 kills and a career-high 17 digs to go along with a career-high eight service aces against SMU at the C-USA Tournament Nov. 17.
