Caitlin Nolan-Ayeni - Volleyball Coach - University of Houston Athletics

Caitlin Nolan-Ayeni

Title:
Associate Head Coach
Email:
cenolan@central.uh.edu

Former volleyball standout Caitlin Nolan joined the University of Houston Volleyball staff in the summer of 2019 and was promoted to Associate Head Coach in 2023.

Nolan made an immediate impact with Houston’s back row defense, as her direction helped the Cougars record 2,155 digs in 2019, a mark that ranked second in the American Athletic Conference and 12^th in the country.

Under her guidance, Nolan helped senior libero Katie Karbo earn the first conference postseason award of her career with her Second-Team All-Conference honor. By the time her career was completed, Karbo became The American’s all-time digs leader with 2,430, which also led all active Division I players at the time.

In the 2020 season, Nolan helped continue Houston's back row prominence with junior Torie Frederick leading the charge. Frederick emerged as one of the best liberos in the conference, averaging 5.00 digs per set, which ranked third in the league. Her 375 digs on the year also ranked inside the top-30 in the country at No. 27. Behind Nolan's mentorship, Frederick earned a pair of American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week accolades and was later named to The American All-Conference Second Team.

In 2021, Nolan mentored newcomer Kate Georgiades to The American Libero of the Year honors on top of being named an all-conference first-team selection. Georgiades ranked 2nd nationally in digs (663) and 9th nationally in digs/set (5.39).

In 2022, Nolan continued her mentorship of Georgiades, helping the libero capture her second consecutive American Athletic Conference Libero of the Year honors while also being named a AVCA All-American Honorable Mention and VolleyballMag.com All-American Fourth Team honoree. Georgiades led The American and finished 11th in the country in digs per set (5.41) and ended the season at sixth nationally with 687 total digs.

With the transition to the Big 12 Conference, Houston's defensive and passing effort continued to shine. Georgiades repeated as Libero of the Year, earning the University of Houston's first positional player of the year honors from the Big 12, and as an All-American (AVCA Honorable Mention, VolleyballMag.com Third Team).

Nolan-Ayeni continued to find success as Houston's defense and passing coach in 2024. Georgiades became Houston's first four-time All-American and four-time All-Conference selection with First Team accolades from the Big 12. Georgiades became Houston's second draftee to the Pro Volleyball Federation, being selected 36th overall by the Columbus Fury.

PRIOR TO HOUSTON
A two-time AVCA All-American from Iowa State, Nolan comes to Houston as one of the most decorated student-athletes to come through the Cyclone Volleyball program. Along with her Big 12 accolades, Nolan also received back-to-back AVCA All-America honors from 2014-15, earning a spot on the Second Team in 2015 and a Third Team selection in 2014.

Aside from her pair of All-America awards, Nolan landed spots on the AVCA All-Midwest Region First Team, becoming the seventh Cyclone player to make an All-Region First Team multiple times. From 2014-15, Nolan became a unanimous First-Team All-Big 12 selection and was named back-to-back Big 12 Libero of the Year in that span.

During her time with Iowa State, Nolan helped lead the Cyclones to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances and in her senior campaign, Nolan posted not only an Iowa State record 5.77 digs per set but a Big 12 record as well. In the summer of 2013, Nolan had the privilege to represent her country, serving as the libero for the U.S Junior National Team at the U-20 World Championships in the Czech Republic.

While with the Cyclones, Nolan was also a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), having organized and participated in community outreach programs to help create better opportunities for student-athletes. As a result of her leadership, Nolan was named captain of the Cyclone volleyball team for the 2014 and 2015 seasons and later earned the honor as the Iowa State Female Student-Athlete of the Year in 2016.

Following her four-year career at Iowa State, the Southlake, Texas, native served as a graduate assistant for SMU Volleyball. Her time spent with the Mustangs comprised of keeping track of statistics during matches, assisting with the day-to-day practice and travel operations, along with assisting with recruiting needs, such as scouting prospective student-athletes at national tournaments.

Nolan and her husband, Terry Ayeni, and two daughters, Sloane and Skylar, reside in Houston.