Vesanovic In 2003...
Vesanovic enters the 2003 season as the first four-year walk-on in program history. Although she has been on scholarship, it has never been during a season. She is an invaluable presence both on and off the court. She will most likely see the majority of her time at the libero position or as a defensive specialist, and has all the necessary skills to make an impact in her senior season. As one of just two seniors and three upperclassmen, her 63 matches and 184 games of experience are very important to the Buffs.
As a Junior in 2002...
Vesanovic continued to improve throughout her junior season and thus played in more matches and games than either of her first two seasons in Boulder. She had 76 digs on the season, including a career-high 12 against Ohio State on August 31 in the Hawai'ian Airlines Wahine Classic in Honolulu. She missed only one match during the year and only a handful of games, playing in 97 out of a possible 111. When not playing libero, she became more offensive minded in the defensive specialist role and recorded two kills and one block, the first of her career, as well as 11 service aces. Between the October 30 Nebraska match and the November 20 Texas Tech match, she led the Buffs in aces five of six outings.
As a Sophomore In 2001...
Vesanovic had an impressive season after learning from Lisa Small as a freshman. She had 83 digs on the season in the back row, an average of 1.46 per game, and also had seven service aces and 16 assists to her credit. She led the Buffs in service aces at Texas A&M, helping the Buffs complete an unbelievable comeback after being down 2-0. She had a career-high four assists against Oklahoma on Nov. 17 in a 3-0 victory and her 10 digs against Southwest Missouri State on Sept. 7 in Provo, Utah, gave the Buffs some much needed energy in the 3-1 win. That SMS match was sandwiched between a pair of heart-breaking five-game losses to BYU and Utah early in the season. In a five-match span, she recorded 45 digs as a defensive specialist, averaging 2.50 digs per game over that stretch in mid-September.
As a Freshman In 2000"
Colorado's first walk-on since Anne Marie Cochran in 1995, Vesanovic earned enough respect from head coach Pi'i Aiu during preseason workouts for him to award her a scholarship for the 2000-01 academic year. As anticipated, her role was limited, but productive when she was in a match. She earned her first of two starts just four matches into the season when she saw back row action against New Orleans and responded with a season-high seven digs. She was injured much of the middle of the season, but came back to contribute big in some late matches, including a three-dig performance against Texas A&M on Nov. 1 and a two-dig performance against Oklahoma Oct. 25.
High School...
Vesanovic graduated from Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, Calif., in 2000. She joins former Buffs Kelly Prahm, Shelly Wolfe and Staci Wolfe who all graduated from St. Francis. St. Francis was the 1997 and 1998 CIF State Champions while taking runner-up honors in 1999. A two-year varsity letter winner for Dave Gambelin, the Lancers took four straight S.C.V.A.L DeAnza Division Championships and four consecutive Central Coast Sectional (Northern California) team titles while Vesanovic was in high school. She earned second-team all-league distinction after St. Francis closed out the 1999 season with a 24-2 record. She played club volleyball for two years with the Vision Volleyball Club in Los Altos, Calif.
Personal"
Monica Michelle Vesanovic was born June 27, 1982, in San Jose, Calif. She is the youngest of Peter and Dee Vesanovic's four daughters, and the third Vesanovic to play collegiate volleyball. Her sister Elizabeth was an outside hitter at Cal-San Diego from 1989-93 while another sister, Nicole, was defensive specialist at Sonoma State. The eldest Vesanovic, Santa, is a Cal-Irvine graduate and works for her father's self-owned jani-torial business. Her graduation gift after high school was a 10-day trip to Santiago, Chile, to visit her grand-mother and help celebrate her 90th birthday. She has two cousins, Nathan Frese and Robert Primrose, that played baseball at Iowa.
Academics"
A business management major, Vesanovic holds an impressive 3.02 career GPA. She has been honored on the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll in four of her six semesters in Boulder.
