Volleyball Southern Conference

Veiglova Named To Eagle Coaching Staff

STATESBORO, Ga. * Former Eagle All-America outside hitter Martina Veiglova has been named an assistant volleyball coach at Georgia Southern University, according to an announcement made by head coach Kerry Messersmith on Tuesday. She becomes the first full-time assistant coach since Messersmith took over the reins of the program in 2001.

In the time after transferring to Georgia Southern from Arizona Western College, Veiglova amassed a series of accolades, earning selections to both the all-SoCon first team and the league's all-tournament team in each of her three seasons at GSU. The Bratislava, Slovakia native also won two SoCon Player of the Year awards while being named Tourney MVP following the Eagles' run to first place in the 2003 Southern Conference Tournament. In all, Veiglova holds or shares 11 different records at Georgia Southern.

"She likely is the smartest player I have ever coached," said Messersmith. "She knows the game so well that she may be just as devastating on the bench."

Veiglova is moving on to her newest role after an exemplary senior season, in which she was named by the Southern Conference as both Volleyball Player of the Year and Female Athlete of the Year and earning honorable mention All-America honors by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). Veiglova tallied 764 kills on the season, setting a league record for kills in a season while tying her for first in the nation. She also added 435 digs and a .351 hitting percentage, as she helped guide the Eagles to a 27-10 record and the program's second SoCon championship in three years.

She was nearly as impressive in her junior campaign in 2002, totaling a league-high 686 kills with 356 digs and a .326 percentage on her way to her first Player of the Year award, as the Eagles glided to a 26-9 finish and a regular season conference crown.

Veiglova's initial season at Georgia Southern in 2001 saw the then-sophomore put up a league-high 543 kills while also adding 388 digs and a .302 percentage to help the Eagles to 22-12 mark and their first Southern Conference championship and NCAA Tournament berth. As a freshman at Arizona Western in 2000, Veiglova helped guide her Matador team to eighth-place honors in the NJCAA Tournament while earning all-America honors from both the NJCAA and AVCA.

Veiglova graduated from Georgia Southern in May 2004, earning a bachelor's degree in hotel and restaurant management.