administrator Posted April 11, 2023 Report Share Posted April 11, 2023 Ema Uskokovic didn't come from Belgrade, Serbia to El Paso with the idea of playing beach volleyball, but as soon as she was presented with the chance, she jumped at it. A standout on the indoor team, the sophomore is fairly new to the outdoor version of the sport, which is in its inaugural season at UTEP. She has teamed up with fellow Serbian Sara Pustahija to form UTEP's No. 2 beach team, and this past weekend the pair accounted for UTEP's point in a 4-1 setback to No. 18 Arizona. The Miners are off to a 3-10 start as they learn the intricacies of the sport and they head to Fort Worth for a tournament at No. 1 TCU this weekend. How has this first season of beach gone? It's been interesting, that's for sure. I feel like this semester, first we struggled to become a team because half of the team plays indoor as well. Even though a lot of people think volleyball and beach volleyball is the same because they both have volleyball in the name, it's a completely different, really new sport. Everything is new. So it's been a lot of learning, a lot of new things, but it's been a lot of fun. How much experience did you have in beach? I've actually never played beach volleyball for real. I played it for fun, but not competitively. It's a lot of learning, but a lot of fun. I finally feel like we are fully understanding what's going on. Why did you want to play it? Last spring when they announced we were going to have a beach volleyball team, coach (Ben) Wallace took us to a court by the airport. The indoor team practiced there, I thought it was a lot of fun. When they offered me the opportunity to do beach as well, I thought it was a great opportunity to do something new and something fun. What is the biggest change from indoor to beach? The biggest one? There's a lot. First is playing an outdoor sport. A lot of us forgot how it is when it's windy outside or hot or it's raining. That's a big adjustment, that and playing in sand instead of a hardwood floor. How fun is it to get to play on a team with another Serbian? It's amazing. We were talking to coach last semester about letting us play together. I feel like we've both worked really hard to get to play together. It's really, really fun. What language do you speak during games? Mostly Serbian, but it's kind of become Serb-English. It gets confusing sometimes, going back and forth. Our practices are in English, everything else in the match when we play is English. Then there will be times, 'I don't know how to say that word in Serbian or English.' But mostly Serbian. How did you end up in El Paso? (Assistant) coach Nick (Petrovic, a fellow Serbian). I met him when I was 14. He had been going to Serbia every year. He offered me a scholarship to play indoor and I thought it would be great to try something new, but also have someone from my country who will understand me if I need anything. What was it like when you first got here in 2021? Before I came here I was honestly worried, El Paso is very different from Belgrade. I didn't know how I would adjust. But so far I am loving it. I love the community, I love the people and everyone I've met. It was scary for sure. That first plane ride there were a lot of tears. But now I get excited to come back and hang out with my friends here. I love people here. Everyone is so nice and welcoming. And I love the weather. How have you grown as a player since you've been here? I think I grew a lot, especially in the mental areas of the sport. I struggled with it at first, but beach volleyball has helped me a lot. Compared to indoor there's only two of us, so if I don't move on fast, the next ball is coming right at me. I think playing beach helped me grow in that area and helped me communicate with my teammates more. I think it will help me indoor too, for sure. What is the mindset of the team? Both teams are very hard working, we put a lot of emphasis on hard work and giving it our all. Since I got here, that was the culture for the indoor team, now that's the culture for the beach team as well. That's giving us the results we're having indoor, and hopefully by the end of this year and next year it will in beach as well. What do you like better now, beach or indoor? That's a good question. For now I'm glad I get to do both. When I graduate that can be a hard decision to make. What's your favorite El Paso food? I have celiacs (disease) so I'm gluten free, I can't eat much. But there is is a gluten-free place on the East side Taco Avocat, I like to go there. Bret Bloomquist El Paso Times https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/sports/college/utep/2023/04/06/faces-off-the-field-utep-beach-volleyballs-ema-uskokovic/70082147007/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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