Cvitkovic Makes Early Impact for Women’s Volleyball

After finishing her fourth and final year at the University of South Florida, graduate outside hitter Marta Cvitkovic transferred to Loyola and joined the women’s volleyball team for her final year of eligibility.

The team was looking to find experience and leadership while searching the transfer portal, since the team also has six first-years, according to head coach Amanda Berkley.

Berkley said Cvitkovic popped up on the team’s radar after they saw her statistics..

“We were looking for some outside hitters in the transfer portal and her name popped up,” Berkley said. “We also had a mutual. One of her former coaches at South Florida is a friend of ours and so we kind of talked to her about Marta, what she’s like as a person and a player.” 

Cvitkovic hails from Rijeka, Croatia, which Berkley said made the recruitment process look slightly different. Cvitkovic had already traveled back to Croatia after finishing the season with South Florida, so the process involved the two having a few video calls, which concluded with Cvitkovic committing to the program.  

Seven players, counting some of Berkley’s starters, graduated after last year, including Karlie McNabb and Addie Barnes. Cvitkovic’s experience and leadership with the younger players was huge, according to Berkley.

Berkley also brought up Cvitkovic’s desire to work toward being a “six rotation player,” meaning she wouldn’t be subbed off.

Berkley described Cvitkovic as “steady,” which allows the younger players to be able to look up to her. The team “lovingly calls Marta ‘grandma,’” Berkley said.

The team hasn’t featured many international players in the past, and they wanted to make the adjustment process as easy for Cvitkovic as possible, according to Berkley.

“We want to make sure that it’s smooth for everybody who comes into this team,” Berkley said. “So we try to have everything in line in terms of what their apartment is like and whatnot. But she’s also someone who has been through it multiple times. So she knew what to do and asked a lot of questions.”

Cvitkovic talked about her experience arriving at Loyola from overseas.

“It was not that hard, just because I was used to the whole way college athletics works in the past four years,” Cvitkovic said. “But like, the transition from us up to here was not hard, just because everyone was very helpful with new things.” 

Loyola’s easy access to public transportation was another facet in Cvitkovic’s decision. She said she’s also a huge fan of the campus and being right next to the lake. 

Beyond the campus itself, she said the volleyball program has been very supportive of her.

“And also I really like the coaches,” Cvitkovic said. “I feel like I’m really getting better, and I feel like that is good.”

Cvitkovic, who first learned how to play volleyball in Croatia, explained some of the things she had to relearn to play in the American system.

In Croatia, teams don’t get as many substitutions as they do in the U.S. This means Cvitkovic said running a 6-2 formation — with two setters and two right side hitters — doesn’t exist in Croatia, due to the amount of substitutions per team. Cvitkovic said a team in Croatia gets a maximum of three substitutions. 

Typically, Loyola runs a 5-1 formation, with four-year setter Bree Borum. Liberos — the defensive specialists who wear a different color jersey — aren’t allowed to serve, meaning the middle hitters always have to stay in to play defense.

While the new rules were an adjustment, Cvitkovic said it was just something she “had to get used to.”

Growing up, Cvitkovic tried her hand at basketball — the sport members of her family played — but didn’t love it. After she tried volleyball, though, she was hooked . 

“I just really loved it from the beginning, and just could not stop,” Cvitkovic said. “And then throughout there, I went from one club to another, that’s a higher level. And there, I just feel like I had a lot of good friends there, and then a lot of competition. I just wanted to keep going and playing.” 

Cvitkovic’s stat sheet is already packed — as she has recorded seven aces and 18 kills so far this season. She’s also racked up 14 digs, as Berkley has been playing her in more defensive positions. After Cvitkovic graduates from Loyola, she hopes to play professionally, according to Berkely. 

The Loyola women’s volleyball team takes on Davidson in their first Atlantic 10 matches of the season at 6 p.m. Sept. 27 and 2 p.m. Sept. 28. Both games will be held at home, in Gentile Arena.