The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Hall of Honor
- Induction:
- 2024
- Class:
- 2004
A prolific outside hitter from Kastela Kambelovac, Croatia, Mira Topic Losert helped put Texas Volleyball back on the map during her four-year career and set the table for the current 18-year run of dominance that includes 18-straight NCAA Regional Semifinal appearances, three National Championships and 11 National Semifinal appearances. Topic Losert became just the third player in Big 12 Conference history to record 2,000 or more kills and the first Longhorn player to register 500 or more kills in three different seasons. The 2004 Big 12 Player of the Year and four-time first-team All-Big 12 selection was a three-time All-American and finished her career with 2,116 kills, 1,267 digs and 185 service aces. When her UT career concluded in 2004, she ranked first in program history in kills and aces, second in total attacks and fourth in digs. Topic Losert was also just the second Longhorn player to eclipse the 2,000 kills and 1,000 digs mark in a career, and she still holds the program record for career kills. Her senior season was her best, earning first-team All-America honors and leading the team back to the NCAA Regional Semifinal before falling to eventual national champion Stanford. She finished with a career-high 593 kills (5.65 per set), 343 digs and 77 total blocks. Her first two years on campus were stellar, as she became the first player in program history to record 500-plus kills in both her freshman and sophomore seasons. As a freshman, Topic Losert was still learning the English language but had no trouble adjusting to the American game. She garnered first-team All-Big 12 honors as well as Freshman All-America honors and was named the 2001 Big 12 Freshman of the Year and AVCA Central Region Freshman of the Year. Topic Losert earned seven career Big 12 Player of the Week honors, a then-conference record in volleyball, which included a single-season record of four in 2004. She still holds the single-match program record with 35 kills in a five-set win over Texas Tech in 2001 and had three other matches with 32 kills. In recognition of her incredible Longhorn career, Topic Losert was voted to the seven-member Big 12 Conference 10th Anniversary Team in 2005. She went on to play professionally for 10 years in Europe and for the Croatia national team, competing at the 2015 Women's European Volleyball Championship. Following her playing career, Topic Losert moved into a coaching role and currently serves as an assistant coach for the Croatian U19 team. she earned her bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies-Corporate Communication in 2004.
