CHARLOTTE, N.C.- For the third consecutive season, the NJCAA National Player of the Year award belongs to a Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneer as Thursday, the NJCAA announced that sophomore Julija Grubisic Cabo was the 2024 recipient after leading FSW to a 26-1 record and a record third straight NJCAA Division I National Championship.

Grubisic Cabo made her lone season in Fort Myers count, and then some.  The outside hitter from Maribor, Slovenia averaged 3.43 kills per set for the Bucs in 2024, notching 8 or more kills in 24 of 26 contests and recording double digit kills 20 different times.  She came up big when the Bucs needed her the most, finishing off 10 or more kills in all seven FSW matches this season against top five ranked opponents including 15 against Miami Dade in the FCSAA State Championship Game and 12 against the Sharks in the National Championship match. Even more impressive was the efficiency in which she racked up the points for the Bucs, finishing the year hitting .351 which set a new FSW single season record for pin hitters and was 43 points higher than any other outside hitter in the NJCAA Division I ranks this season. Also a stalwart on the defensive side of the net, Grubisic Cabo led FSW with 2.58 digs per set and had just 15 reception errors in 362 chances this season.

Grubisic Cabo closes her FSW career with quite the impressive resume which includes 1^st Team All-Citrus Conference, Citrus Conference Player of the Year, 1^st Team All-Region VIII, Region VIII Player of the Year, FCSAA State Tournament Most Valuable Player, NJCAA National Tournament Most Valuable Player, 1^st Team NJCAA All-American, and now NJCAA National Player of the Year.

She joins Barbara Koehler (2022) and Roberta Purashaj (2023) who also won the National Player of the Year award in the Purple and Aqua.