Nollan Announces Addition of Graduate Transfer Elnady
3/7/2025 11:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Evanston, Ill. - Northwestern volleyball bolstered their 2025 roster with the addition of Ayah Elandy, head coach Tim Nollan announced Friday. The outside hitter joins the Wildcats as a graduate transfer following a four-year stint at Kansas.
"I am beyond excited to welcome Ayah to the Northwestern Volleyball family," said Nollan. "She is a dynamic player, an incredible student and an even better teammate. She comes to us after playing and earning her degree at Kansas, where she was an all-conference selection and had NCAA tournament experience. I can't wait to get her into our practice gym and watch the impact she has on our program!"
Elnady is coming off a stellar senior season in Lawrence, culminating in her second straight All-Big 12 First Team honors and appointment to the AVCA All-Region Team. An offensive force, Elnady led the Jayhawks to the NCAA Tournament as a three-seed, where they swept Colgate in the first round.
Including the tournament matches, the Cairo, Egypt, native appeared in all 108 of the Jayhawks' sets in 2024, totaling a team-best 354 kills (3.28 k/s) on a .246 hitting percentage. Her 37 service aces put her in the top ten in the Big 12 and led Kansas' roster for the fourth straight season. All of that culminated in a team-best 3.79 points-per-set average in 2024.
Success is nothing new to Elnady, a three-time Big 12 honoree and three-time AVCA All-Region selection. Her 292 kills in 2022 led the Kansas roster when Elnady was just a sophomore, following up a 2021 campaign that earned her Big 12 All-Rookie Team honors. Prior to her collegiate career, Elnady featured on Egypt's No. 1 ranked Junior National Team throughout 2018, and competed in the 2020 Olympic qualifiers with the Egypt Senior National Team.
The graduate transfer has been a star in the classroom as well, earning a spot on the Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team in 2021. In 2022, she was the recipient of the Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award - the highest academic honor in the Big 12.
"I chose Northwestern because it offers the perfect balance of everything I was looking for: a world-class education, the opportunity to compete at the highest level and a great coaching staff who is committed to building an elite program," said Elnady.
She is set to join Beste Ayhan in Nollan's incoming transfer class next fall, after the program welcomed undergraduate transfer Campbell Paris to the squad this winter.
"I am beyond excited to welcome Ayah to the Northwestern Volleyball family," said Nollan. "She is a dynamic player, an incredible student and an even better teammate. She comes to us after playing and earning her degree at Kansas, where she was an all-conference selection and had NCAA tournament experience. I can't wait to get her into our practice gym and watch the impact she has on our program!"
Elnady is coming off a stellar senior season in Lawrence, culminating in her second straight All-Big 12 First Team honors and appointment to the AVCA All-Region Team. An offensive force, Elnady led the Jayhawks to the NCAA Tournament as a three-seed, where they swept Colgate in the first round.
Including the tournament matches, the Cairo, Egypt, native appeared in all 108 of the Jayhawks' sets in 2024, totaling a team-best 354 kills (3.28 k/s) on a .246 hitting percentage. Her 37 service aces put her in the top ten in the Big 12 and led Kansas' roster for the fourth straight season. All of that culminated in a team-best 3.79 points-per-set average in 2024.
Success is nothing new to Elnady, a three-time Big 12 honoree and three-time AVCA All-Region selection. Her 292 kills in 2022 led the Kansas roster when Elnady was just a sophomore, following up a 2021 campaign that earned her Big 12 All-Rookie Team honors. Prior to her collegiate career, Elnady featured on Egypt's No. 1 ranked Junior National Team throughout 2018, and competed in the 2020 Olympic qualifiers with the Egypt Senior National Team.
The graduate transfer has been a star in the classroom as well, earning a spot on the Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team in 2021. In 2022, she was the recipient of the Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award - the highest academic honor in the Big 12.
"I chose Northwestern because it offers the perfect balance of everything I was looking for: a world-class education, the opportunity to compete at the highest level and a great coaching staff who is committed to building an elite program," said Elnady.
She is set to join Beste Ayhan in Nollan's incoming transfer class next fall, after the program welcomed undergraduate transfer Campbell Paris to the squad this winter.
Volleyball - Tim Nollan, Sienna Noordemeer, and Ayah Elnady at Big Ten Media Days (7/28/25)
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