UALR's volleyball coups have stout Bosnian flavor

The descriptions from coaches and players regarding UALR's volleyball team come quick and with a similar tone.

"A wonderful journey," said senior outside hitter Edina Begic, the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year.

"Kind of indescribable," said Coach Van Compton, who has been on campus since 1985 and the volleyball coach since 1988.

The ride continues at 6:30 tonight when UALR (28-4) makes its return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000. The Trojans play Kansas (22-8), the No. 16 national seed, in the first round of the national tournament in Topeka, Kan., with the winner playing Oregon State or Creighton on Saturday.

UALR is carrying the nation's longest winning streak, 24 matches, into its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2000. UALR made the tournament four times between 1996 and 2000, but the extended gap between the 2000 and 2014 appearances never concerned Compton.

"In mid-majors, it's hard to win day in and day out," Compton said.

What got UALR back is easy to pinpoint: Talent.

"You just have to have players," Compton said.

Begic, specifically, has played a big part in leading the Trojans to their most victories since 1996, a season in which their 20-0 Sun Belt record was a league first. The native of Sarajevo, Bosnia, is a three-time Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year whose 2,142 career kills are the most in school history and the most among active Division I players.

"She means so much to us," setter Megan Mathis said. "We're hoping to make her proud and win for her. We just want to help her carry on the tradition of winning."

Begic's career follows the path dozens of other players Compton has recruited. Begic, defensive specialist Marina Avram, middle blocker Adisa Hodzic, outside hitter Sonja Milanovic and middle blocker Edina Selimovic are all Bosnian-born Trojans.

It's a strategy Compton started about 20 years ago, when UALR was beaten by Oral Roberts, a team that was loaded with Bosnians. Compton went back to campus and located then-swimming coach Richard Turner, who had a Bosnian swimmer on his team.

Compton had the swimmer call his mother in Bosnia to tell others that UALR would be a place to play college volleyball and escape their war-torn homeland. That call eventually produced Danijela Tomic, who led UALR to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1996 and is now the head coach at Bowling Green.

"Since then, we kept recruiting Bosnians," Compton said. "If they see a good player, all they do is just give me a heads up."

Begic said she heard about UALR from Amila Barakovic, a native Bosnian who returned to her home country after being named first-team All-Sun Belt in 2008. Begic boarded a plane for Little Rock in 2011. After initial cultural hurdles she's played a huge rule in the school's current volleyball success.

"She's pretty flawless," Compton said. "She said she wants to go on and play professionally and I told her, 'I don't think you'll have a problem.'"

Tonight's match against Kansas comes before that. A victory would be UALR's first in the NCAA Tournament. Compton and Begic said the Trojans are confident enough the team can win.

Rankings wouldn't even make it that much of an upset. Kansas received 85 votes in this weeks' American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, putting it at No. 26. UALR received 14 votes, good for 30th. The Trojans are 31st in Ratings Percentage Index, with a goal all season of cracking the top 25.

"I think they're mature. They're aware of what it takes," Compton said. "Their goal today, if you ask them what their goal is, would be to beat Kansas and be a top 25 team.

Sports on 12/05/2014