Maja Ognjenović

Ognjenović made her professional career debut with Serbia and Montenegro club OK Poštar in 2002. She stayed in Serbia and Montenegro the following season, and went on to win the 2003–04 Serbian league championship with Crvena Zvezda.

Ognjenović joined the Serbian women’s national team in 2005. She also played for Poštar 064 Belgrad that season.

She started all matches of the 2006 FIVB World Championship held in Japan; the Serbian national team went on to win the bronze medal.

In 2007, Ognjenović won the silver medal and the Best Setter award at the European Championship.

Ognjenović then played for Metal Galati from 2006 to 2008, winning the Romanian league championship for both seasons.

She won the 2008–09 CEV Challenge Cup with Italian club Monte Schiavo Banca Marche Jesi, defeating the Greek club Panathinaikos Athens 3–0 in the final. She was awarded tournament’s Best Setter.[1]

Ognjenović was part of the Serbian squad that won the gold medal during the 2009 European League. She took part in the 2009 Summer Universiade with the national team the following month and won the silver medal. She also played for Eczacıbaşı Zentiva that season.

She went on to win back-to-back gold medal at the 2010 European League with the national team. She was also named the Best Setter of the tournament.

In the 2010–11 season, she won the Greek Cup with Olympiacos.

Ognjenović was named in the roster for the 2011 European League. Serbia won the gold medal for the third year in a row. She was awarded tournament’s Best Setter for the 2nd year running.[2]

She went on to win the gold medal at the 2011 European Championship 3 months later with the Serbian national team, as well as the Best Setter award. She also played for Liu Jo Volley Modena that season.

Ognjenović won the bronze medal with the Serbian squad at the 2012 European League. She was named Best Setter for the third year in a row.[3][4] She also played for Impel Wrocław that season.

In 2013–14, she won both the Polish league and Polish Cup with Chemik Police. She was also awarded Best Setter of the Polish Cup.

Ognjenović stayed in Poland with Chemik Police the following season, and went on to win the 2014–15 Polish league with them. Although the team finished 4th place, she was named Best Setter of the 2014-15 CEV Champions League.

In 2015, Ognjenović won the bronze medal with the Serbian national team after defeating Turkey 3–0 in the 3rd place match of the 2015 European Championship. She was awarded tournament’s Best Setter. She also played for Nordmeccanica Piacenza that season. She was runner up of the 2015–16 Italian Serie A1 league after being defeated by Imoco Volley Conegliano 3–0 in the decisive 4th final match of the season.

Ognjenović was part of the 12-player Olympic roster for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. On August 20, 2016, she won a silver medal as a member of the Serbian women’s volleyball team after being defeated by China 3–1 in the final. She went on to win the 2016 FIVB Club World Championship with Eczacıbaşı VitrA in Manila. She proceeded to win the bronze medal with the club team during the 2016-17 CEV Champions League after defeating Russian club Dinamo Moscow 3–1 in the 3rd place match.

In 2017–18, she stayed on with Turkish club Eczacıbaşı VitrA and won the 2017-18 CEV Cup. She was also named the Best Setter of the tournament. Although her team lost the Turkish Cup to Turkish rivals VakıfBank, Ognjenović was awarded Best Setter.

Even though Ognjenović decided to take a break from the Serbian national team after the 2016 Rio Olympics, Serbia national team head coach Zoran Terzić announced her comeback by including her in Serbia’s 14-player roster for the 2018 World Championship.[5] She then proceeded to win Serbia’s first World Championship gold medal, when her team defeated Italy 3–2 in the final match.

During the 2018–19 season, she won both the Russian Cup and Russian Super Cup with Dinamo Moscow.[6] She was named the Russian Cup’s Best Setter.

Ognjenović won the gold medal with her national team at the 2019 European Championship after they defeated Turkey 3–2 in the finals. She was awarded tournament’s Best Setter.

In 2019, she won the bronze medal at the 2019 FIVB Club World Championship with Turkish club VakıfBank by defeating Italian club Igor Gorgonzola Novara 3–0 in the 3rd place match. She was the runner up of the Turkish Super Cup after Turkish rivals Eczacıbaşı VitrA defeated them 3-2. She was named Best Setter of the Super Cup. Ognjenović stayed with Turkish club VakıfBank the following season and proceeded to win the 2021 Turkish Cup with them. She won the silver medal with VakıfBank after being defeated by Imoco Volley Conegliano 3–2 in the final match.

In 2020, Ognjenović was included in the list of #roster100 by FIVB as one of the 100 most influential volleyball players between 2010 and 2020.[7]

Ognjenović was named to the 12-player roster for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, her fourth straight Olympic Games. After a devastating 3–0 defeat to USA during the semifinals, Serbia proceeded to defeat South Korea 3–0 in the 3rd place match for the bronze medal.

Ognjenović marked an important milestone of her career as she became the first Serbian woman to join the Serbian 300+ caps club after having played 300 matches with the national team. She led Serbia to victory as they defeated France 3–1 to proceed to the European Championship semifinals.[8] She went on to win the silver medal at the 2021 European Championship after being defeated by Italy 3–1 in the final.

In 2021–22, Ognjenović won the 2021-22 CEV Cup with Eczacıbaşı Dynavit, defeating German club Allianz MTV Stuttgart 3–1 in both the first and second leg of the finals. She was awarded her first ever MVP. [9] She was also named Best Setter of the CEV Cup.[10]

She stayed on with Turkish club Eczacıbaşı Dynavit the following season and won the bronze medal at the 2022 FIVB Club World Championship by defeating Brazilian club Gerdau Minas 3–1 in the 3rd place match.

Currently, she plays her volleyball at Eczacıbaşı Dynavit.[11]

Ognjenović has been married to Serbian former competitive water polo player Danilo Ikodinović since 2016. They have been in a relationship for more than 3 years before deciding to tie the knot on the last day of 2016.[12]

• FIVB profile