LITTLE ROCK – Former Little Rock volleyball great
Edina Begic has signed a professional contract with Volley Soverato, located in Soverato, Italy.
Begic won numerous awards in her four-year career at Little Rock, both athletic and academic. She was named the Sun Belt Conference's Offensive Player of the Year for three consecutive seasons while earning First Team honors. Begic was named to the AVCA All-Region Team and earned the status as an AVCA All-American Honorable Mention in 2013 and 2014.
"I'm really excited," Begic said. "It's a new journey and will be different because of a new country and environment. I'm excited to see what professional volleyball is going to bring."
Volley Soverato is in the Series A2 volleyball league, the second-highest division in Italian volleyball, and is one of 14 teams in the league. Its season runs from September to May with the champion being promoted to the top level of Italian volleyball at the end of the year.
"Hopefully after my first year I'll be able to move up to the A1 league," Begic said. "Those are the goals of the team: win the championship and advance to A1."
In 2014, Begic was named the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week eight times, breaking her own NCAA and Sun Belt record of seven. Over her four-year career, Begic was named the Offensive Player of the Week on 18 different occasions. After her incredible performance at the Sun Belt Tournament in 2014, Begic was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
"If I had to pick someone to go and play at the next level, Edina would be the person," Little Rock head coach
Van Compton said. "Not only will she make a great addition to the team she's on, but she'll also make the players around her better. We're grateful for the recognition she's brought to our program and university. Her impact at Little Rock will have a lasting effect and we'll definitely keep up with her career as it progresses."
Begic holds the Little Rock record for most career kills at 2,189, fourth-most in Sun Belt history and second-most in the rally-scoring era. Begic ended her career as the NCAA Division I active career kills leader.
"It's such a great accomplishment for her to be playing in such a prestigious league, and hopefully it will be a stepping stone for her future career," Compton said.
