Karmen "Kiki" Kočar

Karmen “Kiki” Kočar joined LOVB Nebraska ahead of the 2026-27 season following a career spanning professional, international and collegiate volleyball. Her arrival reunited her with head coach Giannis Athanasopoulos after five championship-winning seasons together in Hungary.

From 2021 to 2026, Kočar served as first assistant coach at Vasas Óbuda under Athanasopoulos. During their tenure, the club won five consecutive Hungarian league championships and four Hungarian Cups, while also finishing third in the 2024-25 CEV Cup.

Her coaching experience extends to the international game, with roles on the staffs of the Hungarian and Czech women’s national teams, including Czechia’s 2026 Volleyball Nations League campaign. Kočar previously coached in the United States as a volunteer assistant at the University of North Carolina in 2019.

Before moving into coaching, Kočar spent more than 15 years playing professionally as a setter, competing in France, Germany, Slovenia, Croatia and Romania. She also represented Slovenia internationally and earned German Cup MVP honors with Allianz MTV Stuttgart in 2017.

A native of Ljubljana, Slovenia, Kočar graduated from the University of Maribor in 2016 with a degree in sport training.