Under the scorching sun of Tallahassee, the Gators braved the Hurricanes in a spectacle never witnessed before. The Florida State volleyball team produced a rich tapestry of memorable moments and rattled their rivals from Miami on Sunday afternoon. This was their fifth consecutive conference win against Miami, a feat that was untouched since 2015. What changed for the Gators in recent years is the addition of a volleyball player who sacrificed her life for the sport.

Andjelija ‘Jelli’ Draskovic joined the Florida Gators in 2022 after spending a remarkable season with the Maryland Baltimore County. This Serbia-born volleyball fanatic went through the hardest ordeal to pursue her career in the sport. Now, she is ready to relay her painful saga, where she abandoned her family and her childhood.

Andjelija Draskovic?s sacrifices for volleyball

Recently, the volleyball legend revealed the hidden facts from her early life to the awe of all. Her story was captured on video and uploaded on the NCAA Women’s Volleyball Twitter page with the caption, “At 11 years old, Jelli Draskovic left her family and her home country to pursue her volleyball dreams”. During the correspondence with the NCAA reporter Michella Chester, she said, “It was like really hard at the beginning, I was really young and I had to grow up so much faster than kids my age”. But she knew from the start what she wanted to accomplish in life and had no other recourse. However, “it wasn’t great from the beginning”, but later, she found the people who helped her fit in.

She resolved, “That volleyball is something I wanna do in the future ?if I want something bigger later in my life in volleyball I had to leave my hometown because it was like really small.” FSU volleyball head coach Chris Poole saw an opportunity in that resolve and reached out to her. He helped her get accustomed to the American lifestyle. He saw in Jelli Draskovic the talent and determination to forge a legacy in the sport and had to have her in his team.

FSU coach realizes the value of Andjelija Draskovic

Chris Poole was on the lookout to recruit more talented players for the school’s volleyball program in 2022. He had already struck deals with Audrey Rothman and Laila N’Diaye, but then he found three more amazing players. These were Emily Ryan, Greta Gelumbickas, and, of course, Andjelija Draskovic. He successfully signed all three, and his efforts have borne fruits in every NCAA game ever since. His choice pleased him, and the coach was at a loss for words when praising his team’s newest setter.

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Coach Poole said, ?Jelli has a tremendous amount of experience and we are excited and lucky to have added her to our team for this year. Jelli had high-level training in Serbia at a young age and in fact, Milica Kubura was one of her heroes as she was growing up. Jelli can run a good offense and played a huge role for her team at UMBC last season?. She has just stepped on the first rung of the ladder to volleyball fame and has more to achieve.

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