Anja Kujundžić, Texas volleyball senior libero, started playing volleyball as a child for Spartak Ljig, a club in her hometown of Ljig, Serbia. According to Kujundžić, volleyball was just something that kids in Serbia grew up playing, just like basketball or soccer for kids in the United States.
Kujundžić left Serbia to play volleyball for Virginia Commonwealth University, and has since transferred to Texas before the 2025 season. She has carved out her own role as a serving specialist and a veteran on a young Texas team. With her time at Texas nearing an end, Kujundžić has spent time sharing her love of volleyball with her teammates and with children back home.
Kujundžić returned to Serbia this past May on a project to deliver volleyball gear to children in her hometown. At the event, the kids received new equipment, took pictures and got to practice with people who care about volleyball as much as they do. Kujundžić said she wants to share her experience to inspire kids from her hometown to continue to play volleyball.
“I am obsessed with doing stuff like that,” Kujundžić said. “I know a lot of those kids and I know their parents. … It was super special for me to do something good for volleyball in general.”
She said she knew what it feels like to get new gear, new shoes or a free shirt from someone. She said it felt like someone actually cared and that she wanted kids back home to feel the same.
Kujundžić left her hometown when she was 14 and left the country for college. She said she always knew she wanted to give back to the country that raised her, she just never knew how she would do it. Now, Kujundžić has a base she wants to evolve over time. Kujundžić said she plans to return in December with a bigger bag of goodies.
“That’s something that’s so charming,” Kujundžić said. “Being able to do that makes me super happy and emotional, in a sense, because that’s such a small town.”
Kujundžić’s camps bring more than just gear. Kujundžić said that she wants to teach the kids about volleyball, the sport that has driven so much of her life, and give them new experiences. For her, being a role model for these kids is so much different than having one growing up — showing up for the kids and giving them someone to look up to makes her happy and makes it all worth it.
Kujundžić brings that same energy into practice and games. Texas has fallen behind expectations this season, falling from preseason No. 2 to No. 12, but Kujundžić has stepped up as a motivator and a glue piece in the locker room.
“(Kujundžić is) such a great kid,” head coach Jerritt Elliott said. “If you came to our practices, she’s the one that gives everyone a hug. She comes in, she realizes how lucky she is.”
Elliott said that Kujundžić’s energy has been a connector that helps keep the team together, bringing people up when they are down, which Elliott believes is drawn from her real life experience in Serbia.
“The stuff that (Spartak) and experience in volleyball that (Spartak) brought me is way more than I can give back,” Kujundžić said. “So this is just a little piece.”
