Francis Marion University Athletics

FMU:  First-year player at FMU....Graduate transfer from D1 Stetson University, where she played four seasons....Taking advantage of the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA due to the covid pandemic....Will bring a tremendous amount of experience, having played the last four years at Stetson in the heavily competitive ASUN conference.....Very athletic and talented setter....Will help our production with our offense.....Has experience playing defensive specialist at the D1 level....A player that can play multiple positions that helps with the competitiveness in our gym and adds depth to our roster.....A a graduate student, brings a level of college experience and maturity that will help impact the entire team.....A go-getter....Super competitive personality that is infectious and will have a lasting impression on teammates.....FMU Swamp Fox Athletic-Academic Honor Roll 2021 (fall), 2022 (spring)....Conference Carolinas Presidential Honor Roll 2022.

SU: Earned her undergraduate degree in 2021....Played four seasons – and never missed a match (96)....Registered 1,961 career assists to rank 10th in school history, while amassing 916 digs and 68 service aces.....During the 2020-21 season, ranked fourth in the Atlantic Sun Conference with 9.89 assists per set, while being second on her team in digs (143), third in digs-per-set (2.75), and recording eight double-doubles....Also led Stetson with 15 aces.

PERSONAL:

• Born Naina Galinova Ivanova in Sofia, Bulgaria
• Graduate of 22 SU Georgi Rakovski, where she played under the direction of coach Lachezar Pramatarov 
• Nickname is Nani
• Played with the Bulgaria junior national team since she was 12 years old
• Won numerous medals and tournaments across European soil
• Also excelled in the pool as a youth, where she won 32 medals from between 2006 and 2011

PERSONAL FAVORITES:

• As a child what you wanted to be when you grew up:  FBI agent 
• Favorite Athlete:  Earvin N’gapeth 
• Favorite Movie or TV Show:   Queen of the South and How to Get Away With Murder 
• Favorite Food:  Fries 
• Favorite Vacation Spot:  Greece 
• Twitter Handle: @Nainaivanova2
• Instagram Account: _nanii.2
• Favorite Musical Artists: Lil Wayne, Lil Baby, Kodak 
• Favorite Off-Field/court Activity:  Hiking or going to the beach 
• Goals for Upcoming Season:  Win a championship 
• Why you first chose your sport: I tried different sports when I was younger until I realized that volleyball was my sport. My grandfather used to play volleyball and he introduced me to the game, and I just fell in love with it