Russ Rose Then (2016): “I think Jelena has great intent on getting herself relevant as a player. She was injured during the season and redshirted her freshman year and then had some other injuries during the spring, so we’ve never really seen her at her healthiest. I recognize Jelena has a good understanding of the game and she’s played quite a bit, but whether she physically can sustain the needs to play at a high level is to be determined.”
Russ Rose Now (2026): “Jelena was a skilled player from Serbia. She was a great teammate and an excellent student. She took a redshirt her freshman season, and didn’t play a lot the next season, so I had conversations with her about other players who were coming in that were going to keep her in a similar position going forward. We talked about options, and she transferred to Virginia, where she had a successful career. She still plays professionally. She was a good player and a great teammate.”
2016 Season (Redshirt Freshman): Played in 4 matches and 5 sets … put down 3 kills with 1 dig. Transferred to the University of Virginia, where she played from 2017 through 2019.
Before Penn State: Played club with Red Star Belgrade, helping the team to the National Cup in 2014 and a silver medal at the 2014 championship … named MVP of U17 International Belgrade Tournament … made back-to-back appearances in the European Champions League in 2013-14 with Red Star … earned gold medals at the European Championship with the U19 Serbian National team in 2014, as well as gold at the Balkan Championship in Subotica, Serbia.
