Photo courtesy of Kansas AthleticsTwo Kansas volleyball players are overseas representing their countries in the 2021 FIVB Women’s Under-20 World Championships that run through Saturday.
Sophomore middle blocker Caroline Crawford (United States) and sophomore outside hitter Ayah Elnady (Egypt) are currently competing on the 12-player rosters of their respective countries at the event that started last Friday.
The tournament is taking place in both Rotterdam, Netherlands and Kortrijk, Belgium and matches can be watched via live stream on YouTube’s VolleyballWorld channel.
Before coming to KU, Crawford won a gold medal with the U.S. Youth National Team at the 2018 U18 Continental Championship in Honduras and the 2019 U18 Women’s World Championships in Egypt.
Following the conclusion of the 2020 season, Crawford earned all-Big 12 first team and all-Big 12 rookie team honors after leading Kansas in both kills and blocks as a true freshman.
Elnady also has international playing experience, competing with her home country in the 2018 U18 African Championships and in the 2020 Olympic qualifiers with Egypt’s Senior National Team.
Last season for the Jayhawks, Elnady appeared in 22 matches and made 21 starts, finishing second on the team with 181 kills, while leading the steam with 26 aces. Elnady recorded 35 total blocks and 134 digs and earned all-Big 12 rookie team honors at the end of the sea-son.
