CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern Volleyball and Head Coach Carry Brown have officially welcomed Texas Tech transfer, Surima Akat to the Buccaneer family.
Surima Akat | 6'0" | Outside Hitter | Istanbul, Turkey | Texas Tech
In December of 2025, CSU Head Volleyball Coach Carry Brown saw a familiar name in the NCAA transfer portal. It was a name she originally began to recruit in 2024, Surima Akat. Akat remembered her early conversations with the Buccaneer-coach and commented,
"Coach Brown originally reached out to me while I was still in Turkey. I really liked her from the start, and after I got in the transfer portal, she immediately contacted me to see if I wanted to play at CSU… She talked to me a lot about school and the classes here, and was very transparent about the culture of the program and how I'd be able to grow both as a student and a player."
Before arriving in the United States in 2025, Akat played high school and club volleyball overseas in Turkey – playing for the Irmak Schools and Fenerbahce and M.E Marmara Akademi club teams. Akat helped all three of her teams to top three finishes in their respective leagues in the 2021-22 season, finishing second with Fenerbahce in the Turkey 17U League, third in the Fenerbahce Istanbul 17U league and third in the league that the Irmak Schools team was part of. In 2023-24, she helped all her teams to top five finishes. On top of athletic achievements, Akat was also a scholar athlete during her time with Irmak Schools.
After spending several months in Lubbock, Texas and now a few days in Charleston, Akat commented that the food difference between her home and new country is the biggest culture-contrast she's noticed,
"Turkish cuisine is so specific and special, that's no doubt the biggest difference I've noticed. Charleston is obviously so beautiful, and each place I've lived has its own unique look, but food is the biggest change from home to America."
When she's not playing volleyball or experiencing the differing food cultures, Akat is a large fan of the hit Netflix series, Outer Banks.
"I'm probably on my 20th watch of Outer Banks right now. I want to go see the Outer Banks up in North Carolina."
Akat was ecstatic when she learned the series was primarily filmed in Charleston and the surrounding Lowcountry area, saying, "Are you serious? Oh my gosh! I have to go on a tour and see all the places they filmed at." She quickly turned to her new teammate, Emma Bednarek, and asked, "Can we please go to Sullivan's Island?" Bednarek laughed and assured her that's definitely a reasonable request since the team already frequents Charleston's lineup of beaches.
The on-court ability of Akat is full of optimism. The freshman decided to redshirt the 2025 season at TTU, and arrives at CSU with four years of eligibility still intact. The 6'0" outside hitter is excited to get on the court with her new coach and teammates, commenting, "I'm excited just to be back on the court and play again. At Texas Tech, I gained so much confidence in my blocking ability. I was pretty confident in my serve defense and hitting ability, but my blocking really saw improvement last season."
Her new coach, Carry Brown, has nothing but positive plans for the addition to her 2026 freshman class,
"I'm excited to welcome Surima to the Buccaneer family. With three outside hitters graduating this year, we knew we needed someone who could step in right away and make an immediate impact–and Surima is exactly that player. I'm excited to coach her for the next several years and watch her grow at Charleston Southern."
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