Tanja Nikolic is in her third season as an assistant coach for the Chaminade volleyball team. She spent her first two years as a volunteer assistant after joining the program for the 2013 season.

Born and raised in Croatia, Nikolic took up volleyball at age 13 for the Croatian club team, Kastela, then two years later, played for the team's main squad in the First National League. She also earned a spot on the Croatian Junior National Team from 1994-97.

With several years of international experience on the junior level, Nikolic earned a volleyball scholarship at the University of Oregon in 1998. The following year, she transferred to the University of Hawai'i for her remaining three years of collegiate eligibility under Hall of Fame head coach Dave Shoji. She helped to guide the Rainbow Wahine to three consecutive Western Athletic Conference titles (1999-2001) including a spot in the NCAA final four in 2000.

Following her college career, Nikolic played professionally from 2003-04 in Portugal with Castelo Da Maia, which finished second place in their league. She also played beach volleyball, winning the Croatian titles in 1996 and 2004.

Nikolic first delved into coaching in 2002 with Le Jardin Academy in Kailua.

She currently works for Bayada Home Care as a behavior consultant and helps families and teachers and trains them on how to deal with challenging clients who have severe behavior such as aggression and obsessive behavior.

Nikolic received her Bachelor's degree in Psychology at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa with a certificate in Women's Studies in 2003. She also earned her Master's in Marriage and Family Counseling in 2011.