(This story was originally published on thehofstrachronicle.com)
Hofstra University volleyball libero Nil Kayaalp, a junior television production and studies major has amassed over 145,000 TikTok followers and over 68,400 Instagram followers by making a brand for herself on and off the court.
Kayaalp's social media career started in 2021, when she played for Fenerbahçe ll, a well-followed league in Turkey. Kayaalp started to see a following from the loyal fans of the program.
"[Fenerbahçe] just [has] such a great presence and a really big, good culture and the people are very supportive," Kayaalp said. "A lot of the audience and the supporters are like a huge family. So, when I started playing there, the audience and the supporters of that club kinda just came to my social media."
From there, Kayaalp continued to grow online. Her account became an outlet to express and promote herself as an athlete.
"I like when people come to our games to watch. I like being in that show," Kayaalp said. "I feel like it's the same idea. It definitely builds a lot of personality."
Integrating her sport into her content life, Kayaalp saw an opportunity to combine the two aspects of her life she felt passionately about.
"I feel like [social media and volleyball] belong to each other," Kayaalp said. "I feel like they go together good because that's kind of the same idea that you perform and produce on the court and on social media you produce on your phone."
When it was time for Kayaalp to decide where her future would take her, she chose to move over 5,000 miles away from her home country of Turkey to Long Island, New York to play Division I volleyball at Hofstra University while also committing to her studies. In the United States, athletes can grow as competitors on the floor while also emphasizing work in the classroom, while in Europe, club teams are more restrictive. Athletes often focus solely on their sport.
"Here [in America], you have the opportunity to get a scholarship and get an education besides your sport," said Kayaalp. "Like every part of college, we can experience. But in Europe at the same time, you can't be a student-athlete."
Kayaalp wanted a mix between her athlete life and her student life; Hofstra provided just that. She wanted to further her career in the television world by integrating her love for social media, while playing the sport she loved.
"[Social media] is one of the things I want to build and carry around volleyball. I'm not really sure yet what it's going to be because I'm still trying to learn everything and experience every single thing in this television world," Kayaalp said. "I'm pretty sure [social media] is going to help me out in this journey."
On the court, it was a huge leap from playing in Turkey to playing in the United States. The style of play was different; some rules were different and Kayaalp's responsibility as a libero increased greatly. Her role is to provide steady defense in the backline. In Europe, emphasis is heavily placed on hitting, while American volleyball stresses the importance of defense.
"It was a little bit of a learning process for me," Kayaalp said. "I had great teammates who were older than me in my position and not in my position, so I didn't really feel like I was alone and learning by myself, so that really helped with the team chemistry."
Kayaalp had a great Hofstra libero role model in Chiara Cucco, who graduated in May with a degree in Health Science. Cucco helped her learn the ins and outs of her role at the collegiate level in America.
"I love [Cucco] so much, so I feel very grateful and happy that I had her because the things that I saw she was doing and the way I saw that she was leading the team definitely gave me an idea of how I was going to keep that going after her," Kayaalp said.
Cucco left the responsibility of libero in the hands of Kayaalp for this season.
"It's a big spot to fill," said Hofstra head coach Emily Mansur. "She's filling the spot of a two-time defensive player of the year for the [Coastal Athletic Association]. She just has to come in and work with the people around her."
Kayaalp took on this role with great enthusiasm, getting herself into the best physical shape for the year ahead
"It definitely took a lot from me. I made some sacrifices," Kayaalp said. "I stayed here the whole summer, didn't go home, didn't see my family [for] over a year. With my teammates we decided to stay here and work hard every day. We kept lifting every day, we kept conditioning."
This preparation has paid off. The team tied a program-best start, opening the year with a 9-0 run. Kayaalp played a huge role in this start, leading the team in .
"[Kayaalp] is the starting libero right now. We want her to take this defensive mindset to the back and to really just embrace this position and have fun in doing that," Mansur said.
While finding her way on the court, Kayaalp is managing another aspect of her life – her growing social media presence. She has found a way to use it as a tool to promote her lifestyle.
"I want to show that I am an athlete and that this is my way to live life," Kayaalp said. "That's what I present on my social media. So, this is how I am in my athlete life, and this is how I want you guys to see how I am."
Kayaalp continues to grow her social media presence. In January, she signed a name, image, likeness deal with QDOBA Mexican Eats in East Meadow, Long Island.
Kayaalp is still growing as both a creator and an athlete during her junior season. She is willing to give it all to be the best version of herself.
"There is still so much more to achieve, so I can never think that is enough right now. I don't think I gave all that I can give to my team yet," Kayaalp said. "It's still not 100%. It's going to be 100% for the championship."
Kayaalp and the Pride will take the court in the Battle of Long Island against Stony Brook University on Friday, Oct. 17. Match time is set for 6 p.m..
