Running the Show: Lana Rnjak Is Becoming a Difference-Maker for UTRGV

Forty-five assists.

In three sets.

For a freshman.

Lana Rnjak has been good for UTRGV all season, but what she’s doing right now feels like another step.

Thursday against UIW, Rnjak tied her career high with 44 assists. Two days later against HCU, she broke it with 45 as UTRGV picked up another sweep and moved to 4-0 in Southland play.

That’s 89 assists in seven sets.

And watching Rnjak lately, it isn’t just the number that stands out. It’s how she’s getting there.

In UTRGV’s postgame press conference following the HCU match, head coach Todd Lowery talked about a freshman setter who is beginning to understand what defenses are giving her — and adjusting on the fly.

“I think she just continues to get better,” Lowery said. “I think she’s learning the game.”

That might be the biggest thing with Lana right now.

She’s not just putting a ball in the air and letting UTRGV’s hitters go get it. She’s learning who needs the ball, where the opening is and when an opponent is taking something away.

Against UIW, UTRGV found its success heavily through the pins.

HCU was different.

“They committed a little bit earlier” on Ema Petkovic, Lowery explained during the press conference.

That opened things up elsewhere.

Rnjak saw it.

Julianna Bryant certainly took advantage.

Bryant finished with 14 kills and hit .667. Martina Franco had 15 kills. Petkovic still finished with 11.

Three players in double figures.

Forty-five assists.

That’s what spreading an offense looks like.

And Lowery believes Rnjak is starting to figure out how to do it within a match instead of simply following a plan.

“She was really trusting that it was going to be a one-on-one and forcing balls into that situation,” Lowery said. “I think that’s probably what she’s really learning how to do now is adapt within the match.”

Bryant noticed it, too.

“Lana really helped us out,” Bryant said during UTRGV’s postgame press conference. “Lana did really good about spreading the offense as much as she could.”

Then Bryant said something that might tell you even more about where Rnjak is right now.

Trust.

Bryant talked about making an attacking error early in the match. Rnjak didn’t suddenly stop looking her way.

“Lana trusted me and Marty passed the ball, Lana fed me, and then I just got the kill,” Bryant said.

Later, Bryant described the space HCU was leaving in the middle and what she and Rnjak were seeing together.

“That left a really big gap in the center of the court for me and Lana to really just connect and go dominate.”

That’s setter-hitter chemistry developing right in front of us.

And there’s another part of Rnjak’s game that can get overlooked when we’re staring at the assist column.

She’s 6 feet tall.

That matters.

Rnjak isn’t just surviving when she’s in the front row. She can get involved at the net, and we’ve started seeing it more. She has 23 blocks this season, including three against HCU and two against UIW.

A tall setter who can put up a block changes things.

And UTRGV isn’t satisfied with just that.

Lowery said they’re working on getting Rnjak to become more aggressive offensively when she’s in the front row.

“We’re teaching her to be a little bit more offensive at the right moments,” Lowery said. “When she becomes a little bit more of a threat offensively, she’s really going to start to stretch the defense.”

That’s the scary part.

Rnjak has already earned Southland Setter of the Week honors twice.

She’s already established herself among the conference’s better setters.

She just put together 44 and 45 assists in back-to-back matches.

And she’s doing all of this as a freshman still learning a different style of volleyball in the United States.

Lowery thinks there’s more coming.

“I think that’s why her assist numbers continue to go up,” he said. “And I think they will.”

Maybe that’s the best way to look at Lana Rnjak right now.

Don’t just look at the 45.

Look at how she’s getting there.

She’s reading defenses. She’s trusting her hitters. Her hitters are trusting her. She’s giving UTRGV something at the net, too.

And week by week, Lana Rnjak looks a little less like a freshman learning how to run UTRGV’s offense and a little more like the player running the show.