When Tim Nollan was hired as Northwestern’s head coach in February 2024, he had just nine players on his roster.
The Wildcats had been without a head coach for two months, and during that transitional period, three top performers transferred out of the program. To make matters worse, the team hadn’t scheduled any matches.
“When we came in, (the focus) was really build relationships, get to learn this group, figure out what we have and how we can piece together the roster,” Nollan said.
Over the next seven months, Nollan got to know his new team, set NU’s schedule, filled out his coaching staff, welcomed two freshmen and added five transfers. The newcomers included the ’Cats’ kill leader, junior outside hitter Buse Hazan.
Coming off of a 5-23 (3-17 Big Ten) finish in 2024, Nollan said he feels “farther ahead” in preparing for this season after completing his first full year at the helm. With three incoming freshmen forming NU’s 2025 high school recruiting class, Nollan has also added three transfers.
As soon as the transfer portal opened in December, Nollan began recruiting athletes with established collegiate experience. Nollan’s work paid off from South Carolina’s Campbell Paris, Bradley’s Beste Ayhan and Kansas’ Ayah Elnady.
“We have a full team,” Nollan said. “(The focus now is) really developing and training the pieces we have, and then adding in those new pieces and seeing what type of masterpiece we can make.”
The Nollan Way
Sophomore libero Drew Wright met Nollan for the first time during his interview process in early 2024.
The ’Cats were several months into their offseason, a period Wright said was difficult “emotionally” for the team.
“I think at first we were all kind of just like, ‘Are we really gonna put trust into somebody again? They’re gonna leave,’” Wright said. “Everyone was leaving us at once. It was really hard for us to be able to build that trust back with somebody. And I think he knew that and embraced that. And so he’s gone above and beyond to build those relationships with us.”
Wright said Nollan emphasized having fun on the court as a core tenet of his coaching style, something she said is rare at this level of volleyball.
And, over the past year, the libero said she has come into her own in NU’s gym, largely thanks to Nollan.
“I just feel like I could be myself every day, and he is a big part of that,” Wright said. “He just makes it a really open environment.”
Off the court, Nollan has fostered a close connection between his team and the surrounding community, junior setter Lauren Carter said.
This winter, the ’Cats began volunteering at Oakton Elementary School’s after-school athletic programs. The team is also planning to fundraise for those affected by January’s California wildfires, as four players are from the Golden State.
NU’s Team Development Committee, one of three groups Nollan set up during his first year with the program, plans the ’Cats’ community engagement opportunities. Each player is a member of either the team development, accountability or onboarding committees.
Carter said this practice gives each team member an active off-court role.
“This is definitely the most inclusive way of leadership that I’ve ever seen a head coach establish in a program, which I really appreciate,” Carter said.
Recruiting close to home
Nollan’s engagement with the local community stretches beyond volunteering.
While Nollan and his staff have traveled across the country scouting and recruiting his 2027 class, the ’Cats’ head coach emphasized a focus on retaining Illinois’ top players.
“Recruiting starts in your own backyard,” Nollan said. “And every stop I’ve been at that has been a major focus. You put a fence up around your backyard, and you don’t let the talent leave.”
That approach paid off for NU in years past, with freshman outside hitter Ava Pratt, sophomore defensive specialist Gigi Navarrete and junior outside hitter Rylen Reid all hailing from Illinois, alongside two newcomers to the ’Cats’ roster.
Wright emphasized Nollan’s prowess on the recruiting trail as a foundation for the program to build upon.
“I think it’s really hard to recruit based off of our record, and I think he’s really embracing to (recruits) that we have a culture that’s ready to work and ready to do better,” Wright said. “And I think it shows a lot that people are coming in and they believe in us.”
Nollan said NU is unique in recruiting as it aims to find players with “top 1% skill level and that top 1% academic piece.”
But he added that recruiting, at its core, relies on building relationships.
“We run this program as an extension of my family, and we try and take care of everyone in it, and we treat people the same on the recruiting trail,” Nollan said.
Northwestern lands experience from the transfer portal
Elnady, NU’s marquee addition, joins the ’Cats after four years on Kansas’ NCAA tournament team.
The Cairo, Egypt, native was a First Team All-Big 12 honoree in 2023 and 2024, and brings skill at the service line after leading the Jayhawks in aces during her entire collegiate career. Elnady also led her team in kills with 354 in 2024.
Elnady is one of three transfers joining NU for the 2025 season, along with Paris and Ayhan.
Paris, a 6-foot-5 outside hitter, spent her first two years of eligibility at South Carolina, where she hit .205 and tallied 260 kills. On the defensive side, Nollan said he looks forward to seeing Paris’ net play in 2025.
The Barrington, Illinois, native, who entered the portal hoping to come closer to home, found a landing spot just 30 miles from her hometown.
“When I got the opportunity to come here, it was just like a no-brainer because I had grown up going to the games,” Paris said.
She already was familiar with the team, having competed against Navarrete in club tournaments and against Reid and Pratt in high school.
NU also signed Ayhan, who is on her fourth collegiate stop.
The Istanbul native began her career at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, before transferring to Florida International University for the 2022 season. She then moved to Bradley, redshirted the 2023 season, and played in 2024.
Ayhan’s defensive prowess revealed itself early in her collegiate career. The 6-foot-4 middle blocker set UMBC’s single-season blocking record in 2021 with 133, and led Bradley in blocks in the 2024 season.
Ayhan said she has long dreamed of playing in the Big Ten, and shortly after entering the portal, she received a text from one of the ’Cats’ coaches, who expressed interest in recruiting her.
“I was looking at my phone twice, and I was thinking, ‘Is it real?’” Ayhan said.
After learning more about the school and talking with former club teammate and fellow Istanbul native Hazan, Ayhan was sold on joining the ’Cats.
High-performing first years join the ’Cats
Bella Bullington, a native of Orland Park, Illinois, will join NU as an outside hitter. A two-time All-State honoree, Bullington led Marist High School to the state final in 2024. She was also selected as Under Armour All-American.
Kayla Kauffman will join Ayhan and junior Kennedy Hill in the ’Cats’ middle blocking contingent. The 6-foot-2 middle blocker hails from Loveland, Colorado, and won two state titles in high school.
Rounding out NU’s freshman class is libero Lauren Dignan out of Tiburon, California. Prep Dig’s No. 26 ranked-player in California, Dignan signed in late December. Nollan said Dignan will fill a need in the ball control department.
Back to the basics
As the offseason continues, Nollan’s squad is focusing on volleyball fundamentals, from passing and serving to setting trajectories.
“You get amped up (at games), it’s a big crowd, whatever it might be, but (we’re) going back and really instilling the fundamentals of those and becoming as good at those skills as we possibly can,” Nollan said.
He said the ’Cats are training in small groups, “almost one player to coach” to focus on each player’s progress.
NU’s tallest task may be grappling with the graduation of five-year starting setter Alexa Rousseau.
In 2024, Rousseau shared setting duties with Carter and redshirt sophomore Sienna Noordermeer. The team ran a 6-2, allowing Rousseau to contribute offensively. She tallied 200 kills on the season and a team-leading 609 assists.
In the fall, either Carter or Noordermeer — or both — will serve as the ’Cats’ playmaker. They are training closely with Nollan, a former high school setter, in preparation to lead NU’s offense.
“It’s been really fun to train with Tim and really just have that offseason time because last season, he didn’t really get to break down technique with us before we jumped into the season,” Carter said.
Nollan said positions, including the ‘Cats’ starting setter, won’t be set for months.
“There’s plenty of time and opportunity for people to grow and surge and take spots or stay the same,” Nollan said.
Building on 2024
While Nollan’s first Big Ten campaign culminated in a sub-.200 record, he said he’s “excited to see more from a lot of people.”
“I think we were competitive almost every night,” Nollan said. “We didn’t translate enough of that into wins, I think, for a number of different reasons. But I think our biggest takeaway is the areas that we can get better at immediately, in this offseason.”
Some of those close matches included a 3-1 loss to then-No. 10 Purdue and another to eventual national champion Penn State.
Wright said the team’s focus on mental toughness this offseason will guide them in tight competitions.
“I think that’s what we needed during those sets and those close games,” Wright said. “ We were just like, ‘Oh no, they’re Penn State. We’re not gonna beat them. Like, we’ll get close, we’re not gonna beat them.’ We have to change that mindset.”
Wright credited this mentality to Rousseau, who she said “instilled confidence in me that I never thought I had.” As NU’s 2024 starter at libero, Wright said her setter’s poise on the court inspired her as an up-and-coming leader on the team.
Wright said she and her teammates are ecstatic to put their offseason work to the test once the 2025 season rolls around in August.
“We’re all so excited because we’re ready to show that that’s not who we are,” Wright said. “Even though records don’t define us, (last season’s) obviously sucked, and we were all hurt by it and it wasn’t the way we wanted it to go. But I think it put some fire under us and we’re just ready to go.”
Wright said her goal for the season is making the NCAA tournament, a feat Nollan accomplished at his most recent coaching stop at Grand Canyon.
Nollan’s first season at the helm of GCU’s squad in 2016 led to a 6-21 record, with the team still in the throes of transitioning from DII to DI. By 2019, the Lopes were 24-6, finishing second in the Western Athletic Conference. And in 2023, GCU made the tournament for the first time in school history.
With experience turning around a volleyball program under his belt, Nollan remains optimistic after his first go-around in the Big Ten.
“I think the best way to get over a tough season, cause last year was tough, is to get into the next one and we have a great group that’s excited about it,” Nollan said. “It just can’t get here fast enough.”
Email: palomaleone-getten2026@u.northwestern.edu
Twitter: @pleonegetten
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