Bio

Vera Franzese was named the fifth head women's volleyball coach in program history in September 2020. 

"We are excited to welcome Vera to St Joseph's College and the Bears family. She is a natural-born leader and her positive, outgoing personality will enable her to connect well with our student-athletes," exclaimed Director of Athletics and Recreation Margaret Alaimo. "These qualities coupled with her successful playing and coaching experience will be key in the continued growth and development of our women's volleyball program."

An accomplished Division I student-athlete at Long Island University, Franzese (formerly Djuric) was named Northeast Conference Setter of the Year in each of her four seasons and led the Blackbirds to three-straight NCAA Tournament appearances from 2012 to 2014 as LIU also captured the NEC regular season and tournament titles in each of those campaigns. In addition, Franzese was named NEC Tournament MVP for the title-winning squads in 2013 and 2014.

A three-time All-NEC First Team honoree, Franzese guided the Blackbirds to nearly 100 victories (96) over her four seasons. The four-year team captain helped LIU to a dominant 58-2 mark in NEC play, which was highlighted by a 47-match NEC win streak and three undefeated league seasons. She still sits second in the LIU Brooklyn record book with 4,835 assists and in the top 10 in aces (132, seventh) and digs (1038, eighth).

After finishing her career in downtown Brooklyn, she remained as a volunteer coach for two seasons, focused on developing the setters, and the Blackbirds claimed the NEC regular season title in 2015 and added another tournament title in 2016. 

Prior to LIU, the native of Lazarevac, Serbia was a member of the Serbian Junior National Team that placed second at the 2009 Balkan Championships and fifth at the European Youth Summer Olympic Festival.

Franzese received both her Bachelor and Masters of Science in accounting from LIU. She works full-time for a nonprofit organization and resides in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn with her husband Chris.