Nearly 5,000 miles away from her home in Almyros, Greece, Eleana Koute leans on her teammates on the Marist volleyball team for a semblance of family.
“I know that I’m a social person, but sometimes I choose to be more alone,” she said. “The girls here are so understanding, especially on the days that I’m homesick.”
The 6-foot-4 freshman right-side hitter stays in contact with her friends and family in Greece, but the seven-hour time difference limits just how often she can communicate; she misses them the most late at night, when they are fast asleep.
“I go to my phone and I just keep looking at pictures, which makes it worse,” laughed Koute. “Yeah, I do not recommend that.”
Her saving grace is her brother, Niko, who lives in New Jersey. He often makes the trip for home games, but his presence alone in the United States always serves as an inspiration for Koute.
Niko Koute played basketball at Elmhurst University, a half-hour drive west of Chicago. Though it was hard to see her brother leave home, Eleana Koute thought one day, she wanted to follow in his footsteps and play collegiate sports in the U.S.
“It was a lot more difficult for my brother, because he was actually alone with no family in the U.S.,” Koute said.
Upon attending Niko’s graduation in 2023, Koute made up her mind: she needed to play volleyball in the United States.
Koute began playing volleyball at eight, putting an end to her brief gymnastics career. She joined a club team in Greece, where she fell in love with the sport, her teammates and her coach.
However, when she turned 14, her coach left. In his place, Koute’s new coach often taunted her with racist remarks. Though she was born and raised in Greece, Koute comes from an Albanian family.
Greece and Albania have shared a complex history spanning multiple centuries, peaking in modern history during the Balkan Wars (1912-1913). After the war, the region of Epirus was divided, with the southern part going to Greece, and Northern Epirus becoming a part of Albania. Northern Epirus is home to an ethnic Greek minority, which led some Greek nationalist groups to believe that the land should belong to Greece.
Tensions heightened in World War II; Fascist Italy invaded and occupied Albania in 1939, then used Albanian territory, including Northern Epirus, to invade Greece in 1940. The Greeks declared war on Albania due to the invasion starting on Albanian soil. That state of war stood until it was formally lifted in 1987.
“You’re Albanian… you won’t play,” Koute recalled what her coach told her. “You don’t know how to do this. You don’t know how to play volleyball. Why are you even on this team?”
“I don’t care, whatever you say, I’m gonna do my thing,” she thought to herself.
Koute did not let the harsh comments and verbal abuse that she faced take away from her love of the sport.
“I’m proud of myself because I got past that, and I didn’t let them affect me.”
Eleana Koute
She’s not only proud of herself; Koute takes pride in her Albanian heritage, especially at Marist, where she displays a massive Albanian flag in her dorm room in Champagnat Hall.
Koute initially accepted a scholarship to Elmhurst, her brother’s alma mater, before deciding she had Division I aspirations. She delayed her relocation to the States for a year, instead opting to join A.S Aris, a club team in Thessaloniki, Greece, to raise her stock and re-open her recruitment.
The season in Thessaloniki undoubtedly prepared her for what to expect off the court during college volleyball. 135 miles away from Alymros, Koute lived alone for the first time.
“I had to do everything by myself, laundry, dishes. I hated that,” said Koute. “But it was nice; I was alone, I was independent. I had to take care of myself.”
While Koute struggled originally, she found comfort in being close enough to home where her family could make the two-to-three-hour drives to her games.
“It was hard in the beginning, but my father would always visit me, so it was not that bad,” she said.
When he visited, he brought the two items every college-aged kid longs for: money and food. Koute’s parents own a restaurant, To Kati Allo, a popular chain restaurant in Greece.
During her time with A.S Aris, Koute began talking with college coaches, all of whom represented schools in the New York area. With her brother recently moving to New Jersey, Koute knew she wanted to land at a school within proximity to her lone family member in the U.S.
Koute spoke with coaches from St. John’s, Fordham, Iona and even Marist’s I-87 rival, Siena – until their staff ghosted her.
“When I saw the schedule that we played Siena, I was like ‘time for revenge,’” Koute laughed.
In her first match against the Saints, Koute slammed six kills on a stellar .417 hitting percentage in the Red Foxes’ 3-0 sweep on Sept. 30. Marist lost its second matchup in four sets against Siena on Oct. 28, but Koute swung for 11 kills and added four block assists.
Exclusively playing right-side hitter for A.S Aris, Koute built a bigger portfolio of game film, which she streamlined to college coaches. At her previous team, Koute split time at middle blocker, an unorthodox position for the left-hander.
Koute officially committed to Marist near the end of 2024 and immediately began counting the days until she could first set foot on campus in Poughkeepsie. The only problem? She was in the middle of her grueling October-April club season schedule.
“Oh my God, there’s only three months left?” Koute thought to herself when the season ended in mid-April.
She spent as much time as she could with her friends and family in those three months, knowing how hard it would be to be away from them when in the U.S. Koute cried nearly every day – until it was time to leave.
“When I went to the airport, I was not crying,” Koute recalled. “I was like, ‘Your dream came true. You’re going to the U.S. Why cry right now?’”
Koute flew to the States a week and a half early and stayed with her brother and his wife, Xhovana, who are expecting a baby boy in December. There, she had some time to settle in and prepare both mentally and physically for her first season of college volleyball – She would need it.
“I was so sore the first days. I couldn’t move. I was shocked. I’d never been so sore in my life,” said Koute.
Entering summer practices as one of five right-side hitters on the roster, Koute fought for a spot on the floor as the semester approached. Marist planned to run a 6-2 offense, presenting two spots for right-side hitters.
Graduate student setter Claire Lewis got injured just three days into practices, throwing a wrench into head coach Sean Byron’s plans. Lewis’ injury forced the Red Foxes into a 5-1 offensive scheme, where only one right-side hitter plays, limiting Koute’s opportunities to make a mark in-game.
Koute got the nod for Marist’s opening weekend at the Buffalo Invitational, despite her initial belief that she might not see the court at all during her freshman year. She struggled through Marist’s non-conference slate, as the Red Foxes took on power conference opponents from the Big East, Big Ten and SEC.
Bouncing in and out of the lineup, Koute posted 20 kills in 16 sets played. She recorded more errors (23) than kills on her 92 swings, holding a -.033 hitting percentage seven games into her collegiate career.
“I couldn’t prove myself,” Koute said.
Koute feared she might not get another chance; she last started a game on Sept. 7 against Mississippi State, where she swung -.400 and got pulled after just one set for fellow freshman right-side hitter Ava Lanzetta.
She came off the bench for a set in Marist’s MAAC opener on Sept. 26, then again the following evening against Saint Peter’s. Koute ripped six kills on nine swings in two sets, a driving factor in the Red Foxes’ 3-0 win over the Peacocks, their first in MAAC play.
Koute has started every game since.
The freshman has shown flashes of pure dominance, including five matches in which she recorded double-digit kills. Koute’s lengthy frame is an intimidating net front presence on defense as well.
Koute has also come up big for the Red Foxes in key moments late in matches. She finds herself having the most fun in high-pressure situations.
“I love playing in fifth sets because I know that we’re going to win them for a fact… I have that mindset, and I know my team,” said Koute.
She took over in Marist’s five-set victory against Holy Cross, where she set a career high with 13 kills. In the decisive fifth and final set, Koute delivered a clutch kill to put Marist up 13-10; on the ensuing point, she instinctively threw her arm over the net, just in time to make a timely, one-armed block to get the Red Foxes to match point.
After a disastrous 2024 campaign in which Marist went just 3-25, and only 3-15 in MAAC play, the Red Foxes have put together a far more competitive season – they hold a 7-9 record in conference play, with two matches left to play.
The Red Foxes are in the thick of a complicated playoff push; five teams battling for the final two spots are separated by just one game. Marist is a game out right now, but a 2-0 weekend in New Jersey against Saint Peter’s and Rider might be enough to get them into the MAAC Tournament.
“We’re playing good. We’re a good team,” said Koute. “I know we have bad days, but it’s fine. We can get past that. We can work harder and play harder, and we can win.”
Equally as important to finding her footing on the court, Koute has also gotten comfortable off of it, adjusting to American life and her full schedule. Juggling her class slate and volleyball responsibilities initially was a struggle, but she settled into a healthy work-volleyball balance.
“When I’m on the court, I don’t think about class at all. At all,” emphasized Koute. “I’m only thinking about volleyball and just having fun on the court, and that keeps me concentrated.”
Koute enjoys every practice, in large part thanks to the atmosphere in McCann created by the team. Each practice is filled with music; Koute loves singing and dancing along with the team – it reminds her just how much she loves the sport of volleyball.
Her 16 teammates have become her second family off the court. They often eat meals together and support Koute when she feels homesick. She shares her dorm room with freshman outside hitter Mallory Reck, but has developed her closest relationship with a fellow international athlete, junior outside hitter Sara Dašić.
Hailing from Lazarevac, Serbia, Dašić was a driving force behind Koute’s commitment to Marist, despite the two of them never even meeting. Just knowing she would have an international teammate going through an experience similar to hers gave Koute immediate comfort.
The two have become nearly inseparable; they warm up together before each practice and game, and Koute even stays at Dašić’s apartment in Lavelle Hall some nights. Dašić has no family members in the U.S., something Koute takes solace in; she could not imagine life here without knowing her brother is close by.
“Sara knows that we all support her, and she knows that I’m always there for her,” said Koute.
Historically, the friendship between the Serbian Dašić and Albanian Koute is extremely unconventional.
Serbia and Albania have long disagreed over Kosovo, a small country that sits between the two Slavic nations – 91.8% of Kosovo’s population is ethnically Albanian according to the 2024 national census by the Kosovo Agency of Statistics. After World War II, Kosovo became an autonomous province within socialist Yugoslavia under the authority of the Republic of Serbia, despite its cultural ties to Albania.
Kosovo, whose population was made up of ethnic Albanians, wanted its independence, and the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) waged war on Serbian police and officials in the mid-1990s. The conflict escalated to war by 1998, and NATO intervened soon after. Peaceful negotiations failed, and after a 78-day bombing campaign, Serbia withdrew its troops from Kosovo in June of 1999.
Tensions remain today. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008; 108 of 193 United Nations member states and 28 of 32 European Union member states recognize Kosovo as independent, but Serbia has yet to do so.
“I know that maybe it’s disturbing for some people because of the war we had back in the day, but it doesn’t matter,” said Koute of her friendship with Dašić.
Dašić has been Marist’s top hitter since transferring from Indian River State College after her freshman year – she led the team in kills in 2024, and again has the most on the squad in 2025.
Aside from Dašić, a junior, Marist is powered by its underclassmen, as graduate student setter Claire Lewis is the only departing Red Fox. Koute, along with Lanzetta, Reck and setter Caelyn Dumas, highlight a crucial freshman class, each playing key roles on the 2025 squad.
With one weekend to play, Reck is averaging 3.05 kills per set in MAAC play, good for the tenth-highest mark in the conference. The freshman is a true six-rotation player, tallying the second-most digs on the team and has put up the most solo blocks out of any of Marist’s pin hitters. Lanzetta, a lefty, has found a more natural fit hitting right-side. As Koute’s counterpart, Lanzetta brings a consistent swing and sound blocking and passing.
As for Dumas, the freshman has emerged as a leader for the Red Foxes. With Lewis nursing a knee injury for much of the nonconference schedule, Dumas was Marist’s lone setter. She received a slew of honors, including a MAAC Co-Setter of the Week recognition and was named to the Jack Kaiser Classic and Blue Raider Bash All-Tournament Teams.
“Spending another three years with the same people is really exciting.”
Eleana Koute
They might be just a fringe playoff team this season, but there is plenty of reason to believe that this core of youngsters, including standout sophomore middle blocker Sarah Bumstead, could be the group that finally hangs a championship banner in McCann Arena.
And if they do, Koute will be at the forefront, a driving factor of Marist’s success for years to come.
Edited by Ava Battinelli and August Lieberman
Graphic by Jaylen Rizzo
Photos from Marist Athletics
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