Dwyer volleyball star Mila Micunovic has towering talent, ambition for future
Though born and bred in Palm Beach Gardens, Dwyer senior Mila Micunovic speaks fluent Serbian and Croatian.
Micunovic hopes one day to play for the Serbian Olympic Team and perhaps in a European professional volleyball league. Then she may become a doctor or stem-cell scientist.
The sky is the limit for Micunovic, the eyecatching Panthers volleyballer who can nearly touch the sky.
Micunovic is 6-foot-4 – the second-tallest volleyball player in Palm Beach County. Her friend, 6-5 Jupiter standout Sarah Brodner, has her by an inch.
“I was always tall,’’ said Micunovic at a practice last week at Dwyer. “There’s a picture of me in preschool where I’m a head above everyone.’’
Micunovic, who was 6-foot as a 7th grader, dabbled with tennis, basketball and swimming as a youngster. But she excelled most at volleyball.
“I am taller so I have a higher contact point than most people,’’ Micunovic said. “I don’t have to waste my time jumping. I can just put my hands up.’’
The 17-year-old is a straight A’s student (3.9 GPA) - part of the IB program. All those gifts have earned Mila a full scholarship next year to prestigious Fordham University, located in The Bronx. New York City.
“It’s beautiful there,’’ Micunovic said. “Born in Florida, it’s going to be a good change for me. I think I need a change living in the Florida suburbs. You move to the city and get awareness.’’
The University of North Alabama also offered Micunovic a scholarship early in her junior year and she visited. “That was basically the opposite,’’ Micunovic said. “It’s very rural in that area. It felt more right going to the city.’’
She’s an international traveler. Outside her immediate family, Micunovic’s relatives live in Serbia, where her father was born. The mother is from Croatia. Every summer, they all visit Serbia and Croatia for a three-week vacation.
Micunovic follows Serbian athletes and witnessed Novak Djokovic win the US Open last month. She also saw Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic capture an NBA championship over the Miami Heat in June. She is acquainted with a few of the Serbian national team players.
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On the Olympics, she says, “I think I could make it.’’
Micunovic, who grew an inch from 6-3 to 6-4 in the offseason, is considering taking her talents to the Dwyer basketball team.
Every year, she’s recruited by Dwyer’s coaching staff and turns them down each time. But she’s pivoting, saying it is “a possibility” for winter, putting odds at “20 percent.’’ Micunovic hasn’t played serious hoops since the end of elementary school.
“He says that we can win a state title if I joined the team,’’ Micunovic said. “They said just put your hands up and be ready to catch the ball.’’
In volleyball, she puts her hands up, too, and blocks everything close by.
First-year coach Wyatt Hamilton believes Mila’s stats could be even gaudier. She has a hitting percentage of .306 and makes few errors. She has 230 kills and 38 block kills.
“We have young setters’’ Hamilton said. “What she’s used to hitting off, it’s hard to adjust to that as a 6-4 hitter. She hasn’t struggled but hasn’t played to her potential based on our setting situation. I see a lot of potential and there’s still high execution. It’s nice to have a player of that level and also a great person.’’
Compared to last season’s 8-11 mark under departed coach Tom Amenito, Dwyer has weaved a spectacular season, going 11-4. The Panthers completed a three-game sweep last weekend at a neutral tournament in which it topped West Boca, Boca High and Vero Beach.
“it’s better than we thought we’d do,’’ Micunovic said. “We have a new coach. He’s wonderful. Even though I’m committed, he still treats me like I still have stuff to work on.’’
“I think we can win every game we play,’’ Micunovic added. “Last season we got comfortable or used to losing. This season we switched it up and it’s a much-better team.’’
Fordham coach Ian Choi talks to her occasionally, trying to ensure she doesn’t get “lazy’’ because of the commitment. Choi also wants Micuovic to reach an even higher contact point above the net.
It’s unlikely Micunovic would hit complacency. She cherishes the sport too much.
“I wanted to focus on something outside schoolwork,’’ Micunovic said of her volleyball love. “It’s a de-stresser for me, gets my aggressions and competitiveness out. And I like being part a team, working through problems together.’’
Juno Beach is only ten minutes from campus and she’s spending a lot of down time in the sand. After taking last spring off, Micunovic will make her return to the beach volleyball team in March. She wants to appreciate every final moment as a full-time Florida resident.
“She’s very outgoing,’’ Hamilton said. “I don’t think she’ll run into any problems being how big she is, walking down the streets. It’s not the best of neighborhoods but she’ll be just fine.’’
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Dwyer volleyball star Mila Micunovic has towering talent, ambition
