Editor’s Note: This story is the first of a two-part series featuring NIU volleyball’s junior setter Ella Mihacevich. The second story will be released on Oct. 13.

Ella Mihacevich is making the most of her time on the starting lineup as the on-court commander of the NIU volleyball team, the current leaders of the Mid-American Conference.

Mihacevich is a junior in her first season as the full-time setter for the Huskies. She said there are two ways to look at the role of a setter on a volleyball court.

“It can be a lot of pressure, and nothing that you do is going to be good enough,” Mihacevich said. “Your coach can nitpick, your teammates can nitpick.”

Just over halfway through the season, Mihacevich has been turning that mindset into something positive.

“You can take the pressure off of your teammates,” Mihacevich said. “If someone doesn’t get a kill, you can say ‘I’m sorry; here, I will change this for you.’ And I think that automatically turns you into more of a leadership figure.”

Mihacevich has received praise for her setting abilities from teammates such as senior outside hitter Brianna “Bina” Scuric in post-match interviews.

“Ella did such a good job with her sets,” Scuric said after NIU’s 3-1 victory over Campbell University on. Sept. 2. “It made it so much easier to see blocks and hit around them.”

The queen of aces

Mihacevich has cemented herself as one of the top servers for the Huskies. The junior currently leads the team with 22 services aces through 17 matches played. She also claimed NIU’s service aces title last season with 36 total.

“Serving has always been a strong suit for me,” Mihacevich said. “The coaches that I’ve had in the past have really emphasized that you can win a lot of matches with a good serve. And then coming here, I kind of kept that philosophy.”

While not a playing card herself, Mihacevich has a unique card to play in the serving game: Being a southpaw, otherwise known as being left-handed.

“It’s an interesting angle when a left-handed person hits at the angle I do,” Mihacevich said. “Having that unique element has helped my ace number a lot.”

No easy task

Each of the setters on NIU’s roster last season, Mihacevich, Grace Balensiefer and Sophie Hurt, described the setter position as the quarterback of volleyball.

“You’re (setters) the leader on the court,” said Balensiefer, NIU’s former starting setter from 2018 to 2021 and current setter for the Purdue University Boilermakers. “Everybody kind of looks to you to kind of see what’s going on because you’re the one calling plays.”

Mihacevich played behind Balensiefer for her first two years in the Huskies’ uniform. While Balensiefer occupied the setter spot, Mihacevich played multiple roles around the court. She spent time as a defensive specialist during her freshman season, which Mihacevich said was difficult experience for her.

“That was something that I’d never done, and I personally think I’ve struggled with defense for a long time,” Mihacevich said. “So, trying to fill that role was a challenge for sure.”

Mihacevich moved to the front row last season her sophomore year, to assume the role of right side hitter, a position she also had no prior experience in.

“I was kind of shocked to see that Ray had confidence that I could, you know, hold my own in the front row,” Mihacevich said. “But I will say having such good leadership from Grace (Balensiefer) showed me, like, okay, it’s fine, you can do it. You can be okay and ultimately put the team before myself, so whatever I could do to fill those roles, I was good with that.”

Balensiefer said Mihacevich asserted herself as a leader on the court even when she wasn’t a setter.

“She always knew what to say, kind of, like, to hype up the team,” Balensiefer said. “She always had the right words for the team to hear which is something that I wasn’t great at. She kind of helped me become that player, and I helped her with the planning aspect.”

It’s a family affair

Both of Mihacevich’s parents played volleyball. Her father, Daniel Mihacevich, was an outside hitter for the men’s volleyball team at Ohio State University from 1994 to 1997. The elder Mihacevich tallied 1,228 kills in his collegiate career. Daniel Mihacevich began playing for the Buckeyes a year after NIU volleyball head coach Ray Gooden wrapped up his playing career at OSU in 1993.

Ella Mihacevich’s mother, Kristen Mihacevich, played collegiately for the Cleveland State University Vikings. Daniel Mihacevich and Kristen Mihacevich both serve as coaches for Academy Volleyball Cleveland.

Ella Mihacevich and her two younger sisters have followed in their parents’ footsteps. Kate Mihacevich is a sophomore outside hitter for the Nova Southeastern University Sharks. Anna Mihacevich, the youngest of the Mihacevich clan, competes on a beach team instead of her high school team, the Padua Franciscan High School Bruins.

In the biography of her player profile on the NSU Sharks website, Kate Mihacevich described her oldest sister as a significant influence to her.

“(Kate Mihacevich) says her older sister is the most influential person in her life because she is an amazing leader and pushes herself to be the best at everything she does, in school, on the volleyball court, and in everyday life.”

Kate’s expression of admiration for Ella was one that was abnormal for the Mihacevich family dynamic but special nonetheless.

“Funny enough, I had never seen that quote before,” Ella Mihacevich said. “I was having a rough week a couple of weeks ago and I was talking to my mom … she sent me that clip in Kate’s bio, and I’m not a crier, but I immediately teared up because that was so special to hear. We’re not, like, super lovey. We don’t really express our feelings to each other often but to see that she publicly would say something so nice about me was crazy.”

“This is where I wanted to be”

The Huskies were able to bring Mihacevich on board after a lengthy recruiting process that ended with a stop in DeKalb.

“This (NIU) was my last visit,” Mihacevich said. “I thought I was going to be making a pros and cons list to decide what school I was going to come to. Something about the team environment, and the coaching staff and just being on campus made me realize this is where I wanted to be.”

Mihacevich arrived at NIU in time for the spring 2021 season. The only other setter on the roster at the time was then-junior Grace Balensiefer.

“I’d never been in that position,” Balensiefer said. “When Ella came in, it was kind of a new role for me. I kind of tried to take her under my wing, but she’s a great leader. She knew what she was doing right when she got into college and she stepped into any role that she needed to fill on the team.”

Hitting the ground running

Mihacevich’s first season as the Huskies’ starting setter has gotten off to a solid start. She has taken home three MAC West Setter of the Week honors in the first seven weeks of the season. Her most recent honors were received in back-to-back weeks.

Mihacevich is currently second in the Mid-American Conference with 635 assists and 10.76 assists per set. Her numbers also rank 18th in the nation. Mihacevich’s efforts have guided NIU volleyball to a 13-4 overall record and wins against five different MAC rivals.

“She’s been doing a great job,” Hurt said. “I’m super proud of her for everything that she’s accomplished this season and I’m really excited to see what’s ahead because I know that there’s so much more for her.”

Mihacevich and the Huskies (13-4, 6-1 MAC) will see their next action this weekend as the reigning MAC champion Ball State University (12-6, 4-2 MAC) comes to DeKalb for a matchup of heavy hitters. The two-game series will be played at 6 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday at Victor E. Court.