Elaini Kollias

Elaini Kollias is the Director or Operations for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Volleyball Team.

Elaini Kollias enters her eighth season with the UNLV Volleyball program after serving as an assistant coach from 2004-2010, moving back to California for a brief stint from 2010-2017, and now entering her second season as the Director of Operations for UNLV volleyball.

Kollias started at UNLV beginning in 2004 as the assistant coach/recruiting coordinator until leaving the program in 2010. From 2004-2010, she helped coach the team to no less than 15 wins in each of her years in Las Vegas. She helped then-head coach Allison Keeley to a mark of 90-57. Included in those 90 victories are two back to back seasons of at least 20 victories with a school record 24 amassed in 2007. When Kollias returned in February 2021, she resumed her previous role as assistant coach/recruiting coordinator before changing roles to the Director of Operations in August of 2022.

After leaving UNLV in 2010, Kollias moved back to California and coached at Saddleback Valley Volleyball Club where she worked previously from 1993 - 2001, then again 2010-2017. Kollias also coached at Orange Coast Volleyball Club where she worked from 2011-2017, then returning to Las Vegas in 2017 where she coached the boys and girls at Vegas United Volleyball club, which she still currently does.

Upon returning to UNLV in February 2021, she saw the team to a Spring 2021 Mountain West Conference Championship title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament, before securing the first ever national championship title in program history the following season (Fall 2021) where the Rebels were crowned the 2021 National Invitational Volleyball Champions. Kollias also saw the team to a 2022 Mountain West Regular-Season title and the fourth ever NCAA Tournament trip in program history.

Prior to UNLV, she spent three years as a graduate assistant and assistant coach with West Virginia’s Volleyball team. During her time in Morgantown she was responsible for on-court coaching as well as actively recruiting the West Coast.

Kollias started her playing career at Saddleback Junior College (Mission Viejo, CA) where she was named team MVP twice and was a two time all conference member. She was later inducted into the Saddleback Hall of Fame. She then went on to play for Concordia University in Irvine, Calif., and set a school record for most kills in a match with 34. Kollias holds the career record for kills and is third in all-time assists for the Eagles.

In 2002 she was a member of an American contingent that won the gold medal at the Scottish National Championships. The team was coached by George Mason University’s Pat Kendrick.

Kollias is from Dana Point, Calif., and graduated from Concordia University in 1996 with a B.A. in elementary education. She earned her master’s degree in athletic coaching education in 2002 from West Virginia University.