In just five seasons at the helm of the FIU volleyball team, head coach Danijela Tomic has transformed the program into one of the finest in the Sun Belt Conference and in the nation.

Tomic is a three-time SBC Coach of the Year and currently owns a career record of 118-40, as the 118 victories rank third all-time in FIU Athletics. In the midst of FIU's most successful Division I season to-date in 2009, Tomic earned her 100th career win on Oct. 4, 2009, on the strength of a 3-1 win over rival Middle Tennessee and picked up her first ever NCAA Tournament victory on Dec. 3, 2009, with a 3-2 victory over cross-town foe Miami.

The 2009 season saw many more milestones, as FIU earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament for the third overall and second consecutive season. Tomic coached a program-high three players to AVCA All-America Honorable Mention honors, as Jovana Bjelica, Yarimar Rosa and Natalia Valentin became the first trio in FIU volleyball history to earn All-America and All-South Region honors. Rosa's All-America nod made her the first ever four-time All-American in FIU volleyball history, as the standout also picked up her second straight SBC Player of the Year honor and her third consecutive First Team All-SBC accolade. Three teammates joined her as All-SBC honorees while Bjelica earned FIU's second SBC Freshman of the Year nod in volleyball history.

Tomic led the 2009 Panther squad to an overall record of 32-4 and a perfect SBC season record of 17-0, marks that include a second straight SBC regular season title and an SBC Championship runner-up finish. The 17 wins over league opponents set a school record, breaking the previous record of 15 by Tomic's 2008 squad that went 15-2 in conference play, while the 32 overall wins are the most in Division I school history, besting the 2008 squad's 28 victories. Over the course of the season, the Panthers compiled a 23-match win streak, which at the time ranked as the fourth-longest win streak in the nation.

In 2008, Tomic guided FIU to a 28-7 mark, an SBC East Division crown and the No. 1 seeding entering the league championship. Led by Rosa, who earned SBC Female Student-Athlete of the Year honors, a trio of all-conference performers and the conference's Newcomer of the Year Isadora Rangel, the Panthers finished with their second-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Along the way, FIU scored big with a Big Orange Bash tournament title that included a notable victory over then-No. 19 and tournament host Clemson.

One year earlier, Tomic became the fastest FIU head coach to win 50 matches, doing so in just 73 contests, topping the previous mark of 90 set by the program's first head coach, Dr. Judith Blucker, on Dec. 1, 1975. That 2007 squad went 19-8 on the year, en route to FIU's third-straight winning season under Tomic and a semifinal appearance in the SBC Tournament. The team picked up landmark victories at Missouri, who was receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25 poll at the time, and at WKU, the Panthers' first ever win over the Lady Hilltoppers on the road. Three student-athletes received All-SBC honors, while Rosa was named an All-American for the second straight season.

In 2006, year two of the Tomic era, saw several landmark moments, as Tomic was named SBC Coach of the Year after directing the team to the SBC Championship game, a 24-8 record and a share of the SBC regular season title. At the time, the 24 wins tied for the most in program history.

In addition to her coaching honors that season, three Panthers were named to the All-SBC team, while Rosa became the program's first All-American in addition to garnering numerous other accolades, including being named the AVCA South Region Freshman of the Year. In addition, Keila Oliveira became Tomic's second straight junior college recruit, along with Anita Szymanska in 2005, to be named the SBC Newcomer of the Year.

Tomic made an immediate impact on the Panther volleyball program during her first season as head coach in 2005, as her team displayed a remarkable 12-win turnaround and reached the SBC Tournament as the No. 6 seed after missing out on tournament play in two of the previous three seasons.

In addition, the relatively inexperienced FIU squad displayed the sort of poise found in a veteran group by compiling an 8-1 record at home and a 6-1 record in five-set matches, which included two 0-2 come-from-behind performances. As a result of Tomic's tutelage, the Panthers finished the season over .500 for just the second time in nine years, while the team's 15 wins were the most for a first-year head coach in the program's Division I history.

Tomic demands much more than excellence on the court, urging her student-athletes to give back to the community and ensuring that they excel in the classroom. In 2008, the Panther volleyball team earned the Athletic Department's Dr. Paul D. Gallagher Community Service Award, presented to the FIU team that has gone the extra mile in performing community service throughout the year. That academic year also saw seven Panthers honored by the SBC on either the Commissioner's List (with a grade point average over 3.5) or the Academic Honor Roll (grade point average between 3.0 and 3.49). The 2009 team placed three student-athletes on the Commissioner's List while a pair of Panthers were named to the Academic Honor Roll.

"It is very important to me that our student-athletes have a holistic college experience," Tomic said. "The emphasis is on being true student-athletes with the focus on completing their college degrees while playing volleyball at the highest level. We have very high expectations for our student-athletes in both of those areas and they are cognizant of the fact that coming into our program, they will be expected to strive for excellence in the classroom and on the court.

"In addition to that, I feel strongly that our student-athletes have an obligation to give back to the community in a tangible manner because the community has made it possible for them to have this once in a life time experience of being a student-athlete at FIU. Our team volunteers mostly during our off-season, and I was very proud of that. To complete this holistic approach, I believe that our student-athletes also should have a time for other fun activities and experiences that they would have had if they were only FIU students."

Tomic sees all this a part of her student-athletes' maturation process.

"In the end, I hope that they would feel that they have matured as individuals, and that their four years at FIU prepared them to be successful in all the aspects of life. I also hope that they would take away from their time at FIU that through commitment, passion and teamwork, everything is possible to accomplish."

Prior to her arrival at FIU, Tomic served as an assistant coach at LSU for two seasons. During her stint with the Tigers, she signed the SEC statistical leaders in blocks and service aces, as well as an SEC Freshman of the Year, while helping the team attain its highest winning percentage in seven seasons.

Before that, Tomic worked as an assistant coach at her alma mater, Arkansas-Little Rock, for six seasons. She began her coaching career as a student assistant at UALR for two years before being promoted to the first assistant position in 1999. Tomic was instrumental in the recruitment of several international athletes to the Trojan program that aided in their success, as she helped to sign one SBC Player of the Year, two SBC Tournament MVP's, seven All-SBC selections, two SBC Freshman of the Year picks, and an NCAA Statistical champion in blocks. UALR won three SBC Championships (1997, 1998 and 2000) during her tenure in Little Rock.

Tomic, the first foreign athlete to play volleyball for UALR, was a two-time All-SBC honoree while playing for the Trojans from 1995-97. Competing as an outside hitter, right-side hitter and a setter, she helped lead her team to the NCAA Tournament in 1996 following an MVP performance in the SBC Tournament. Tomic recorded over 500 digs, 300 assists, 100 blocks and nearly 500 kills and 100 service aces in just two seasons while maintaining a .264 hitting percentage. She remains ranked in the top 10 in eight of the nine UALR career statistical categories and currently holds the SBC record for most digs in a conference tournament four-game match at 32, set during the championship match of the 1996 tournament.

A native of Catici, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tomic graduated from UALR in 1999 with a degree in health education.