Before their game against SBCC on Wednesday Oct. 16, the Lady Raiders volleyball team, along with the entire Moorpark College athletic department, honored Nena Siljegovic by retiring her number nine jersey.

“This is unreal. You never [think] about it…that something is gonna be this big,” Siljegovic said.

Siljegovic was a two-time WSC Player of the Year at Moorpark. As a captain, she led her team to WSC Titles in both of her seasons. They reached sixth in the national junior college rankings.

In her sophomore year, she was named the Ventura County College Athlete of the Year and was a two-time All State honoree. In 2003, she was named the AVCA National Two-Year College Player of the Year, and to this day remains only the second California player to do so (the first in 1993).

Born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, Siljegovic, along with her family, defected from Serbia in 1998, spent one year in Austria and then immigrated to the United States in 2000.

In 2003, Siljegovic received the 3C4A California Student Athlete Achievement which honors the student athlete who has overcome great personal, academic, or emotional odds to achieve success while participating in intercollegiate athletics.

Head Coach Steve Burkhart is humbled and honored to have been her coach. He is proud of everything she has done and grateful he had the opportunity to coach her.

“To be the national player of the year…I mean wow,” Burkhart said. “I was lucky to work with her.”

From Moorpark, Siljegovic earned a two year full-ride scholarship to the University of Southern California. Siljegovic led the Women of Troy in several different categories and to the second round of the NCAA playoffs her senior season. After her time at USC, she played professionally in France for two years.