Sinisa Momic begins his sixth season as a full-time assistant with the Green Wave in 2008, and his fourth as the team's top assistant. Momic has been an integral part of the program's rise to national prominence and brings 12 years of experience as a professional volleyball player, and a unique volleyball educational background to Tulane.

He is primarily responsible for overseeing all aspects of player development, practice design and implementation, as well as expanding Tulane's recruiting base to include international student-athletes.

"For the last six years, I have had the honor of working side-by-side with one of the most gifted coaches around." head coach Liz Kritza said. "Sinisa Momic and his expertise are responsible for much of the success we've had and the success to come."

Momic was instrumental in recruiting international standouts in Sara Radosevic, Luna Rebrovic, and Ksenija Vlaskovic, all of whom earned C-USA All-Freshman Team honors. Radosevic is a three-time AVCA All-American, AVCA All-Midwest Region and All-Conference USA selection. Vlaskovic became the Green Wave's second straight C-USA and AVCA Midwest Region Freshman of the Year in 2006, and earned All-Midwest Region Honorable Mention and First Team All-Conference USA honors in 2007.

"Not only does he have the ability to identify potential student-athletes with the skills to succeed, but he also has the technical knowledge to help them reach their full potential as athletes," Kritza added.

During his tenure at Tulane, the Green Wave have seen their hitters earn a total of four All-America honors from the AVCA in the last three seasons (Radosevic 2005-07 and Bridget Wells 2007). Wells, one of Momic's star pupils, increased her hitting percentage by 190 points in one off-season, earning First Team All-Conference and AVCA All-Midwest Region honors.

Momic aides Kritza with coaching team systems to include all positions and formulating match strategy and preparation. He also prepares scouting reports, oversees video exchange and the team's strength & conditioning progress.

He assists in scheduling the team's competition and training cycles, and also serves as team liason with the compliance office.

Momic served as a volunteer coach at Tulane in 2002 and 2003, and was instrumental in helping the Green Wave lead Conference USA in digs per game (18.22) in '03 and again in '04 (17.37). Three Tulane players ranked among the top six in the league in digs in 2003, including then-senior libero Karlyn Daly who was named 2003 C-USA Defensive Player of the Year, and Kelli Dickson ranked third in the league in digs.

During his professional career, Momic helped his teams win the Croatian Championship and Croatian Cup four times. First breaking into the professional ranks at 16 years old, Momic was a member of the Junior National Team for the former Yugoslavia in 1990, the Croatian Junior National Team from 1987-90 and the Croatian National Team in 1996.

Momic began his coaching career in 2000, serving as an assistant on the Mladost-Zagreb squad where he helped the team win both the Croatian Championship and the Croatian Cup in 2001. He also earned a coaching position on the 2002 Croatian Junior National Team where he helped the squad finish as one of the top 12 teams on the continent and qualify for the European Championship.

Momic is a contributor for the Croatian volleyball website www.odbojka.hr ("odbojka" is the Croatian word for volleyball.

A native of Zagreb, Croatia, Momic graduated from The High School for E

conomics in 1993 and earned his degree from University of Kinesiology-Zagreb in 2000 where he received certification as a senior volleyball coach.

Momic comes from a family rich in volleyball tradition. His brother Sasa, who played for the Croatian National Team and continues to play professionally in Europe, was often a beach volleyball partner. His father Slobodan Momic has been involved in the sport in Europe for decades, including a stint coaching with the Croatia Volleyball Federation. He organized and planned the competition and training aspect of the team's 17-day excursion to Croatia in the summer of 2008, as the Green Wave barnstormed his native country playing club teams and national teams.

Momic is married to the former Lacey Vicknair, whom he met while both were playing for their respective men's and women's teams on the same professional volleyball club in Austria. After moving to Croatia, Vicknair's team went on to win the Croatian national championship.

Vicknair helped lead the Tulane women's basketball team to the NCAA Tournament from 1996-99 before turning her attention to volleyball where she lettered for the Green Wave squad in 1999 before turning professional. The couple moved to New Orleans in October of 2002.

August, 2008