Marissa Prinzbach - Volleyball Coach - Boston College Athletics

Marissa Prinzbach

Title:
Associate Head Coach / Recruiting Coordinator
Email:
marissa.prinzbach@bc.edu
Phone:
552-1822

Marissa Prinzbach begins her eighth season on the Heights as the Associate Head Coach for the women’s volleyball program. Last season (2024), Julia Haggerty blocked her way to the top leading both the ACC and NCAA in total blocks earning All-ACC and All-Region honors.

Prinzbach assisted the Eagles in their 19-13 campaign in the 2023 season, going 8-10 in ACC and starting the season strong with a 7-0 run in the first seven home matches. In 2022 Prinzbach helped guide the Eagles to their first ever postseason championship claiming a 3-1 victory at Drake for the NIVC title. En route to the NIVC title, the Eagles set a new single season record for wins eclipsing the previous mark of 20 with a final record of 24-13. Also in 2022, both Grace Penn and Sophia Lambros surpassed the 1,000 assist mark during their careers at Boston College under Prinzbach’s tutelage.

Prinzbach joined the Eagles in January of 2018 and was the first hire to Kennedy's staff upon his arrival to the Heights. Kennedy recently surpassed Andrea Leonard’s career win mark at BC and Prinzbach has been on the sidelines and on the bench for each one of Kennedy’s wins. Together, they have put together one of the best 5-year stretches in program history for this Eagles program.

Over her first five seasons on the Heights she has helped guide the Eagles offense to a program best 20 wins in 2019, a program record 11 ACC wins in 2019, the programs first postseason appearance in 2019, and the programs first postseason victory in the NIVC in 2021 in addition to the accomplishments of 2022. During that time BC has garnered wins against 12 ACC foes including perennial powerhouse Louisville, Miami, Florida State, Duke, Georgia Tech, NC State, and North Carolina.

She is also the recruiting coordinator for the Eagles. Since 2019 each of BC’s recruiting classes have received at least an “honorable mention” designation from Prep Volleyball as being among the top 50 classes in the country. In 2022, Prinzbach landed the programs highest ranked senior ace by signing senior ace #16 Anna Herrington out of Florida as part of the 2022 class. Herrington is the 3^rd top 100 BC commit since Prinzbach has taken over the role of recruiting coordinator (Herrington - 2022, McCaa - 2019, Lambros- 2020 ).

Also in 2019, BC landed the programs first Senior Ace and Top 100 recruit as ranked by Prep Volleyball when Gabby McCaa, a middle blocker from Minneapolis signed with the Eagles. To follow up in 2020, Prinzbach’s class once again received Top 50 recognition and the program added its’ second Top 100 recruit in consecutive years when Sophia Lambros, a setter from Fullerton, CA joined the team.

In 2018, the Eagles posted their first .500 season since 2004. The program got off to their best start in history beginning the year 9-0 and won the most ACC matches in a season (5) since joining the ACC in 2005. During that run the Eagles knocked off the University of North Carolina for the first time ever in a 3-0 sweep at home in October.

The following year Prinzbach was integral leading the team to a program best 20 wins overall and an ACC record of 11-7 doubling their ACC program best record from a year ago. The team also made their first ever postseason appearance in the 2019 NIVC. In 2019, BC recorded just their second win ever over Duke and knocked off cross town rival Harvard for the first time since 2015.

In charge of the Eagle offense and serving strategy in 2019, the Eagles ranked fourth in the ACC in both kills and aces. Primarily working with the setters, Prinzbach mentored DeJarld and McKnight in a 6-2 offense to combine and finish 3^rd in the ACC in assists. She also helped produce BC’s first All-ACC selection since 2015 when Amaka Chukwujekwu was selected to the All-ACC Second Team.

Prior to her team at BC, Prinzbach spent the 2017 season at Dartmouth. While there she was responsible for managing the offense, which included training the program’s only Ivy League All Conference selection in 2017. She also served as the Big Green’s Recruiting Coordinator, managing coordination, communication, and evaluation for all incoming committed recruits and potential prospects.

Prinzbach began her collegiate coaching career the year prior (2016) as a graduate assistant coach at Franklin Pierce. She was involved in designing practices and scouting reports, breaking down film, planning travel, and fundraising while serving as the team’s lone assistant coach. The Ravens concluded the 2016 season with an overall record of 12-15 and reached the quarterfinal of the conference championship before being eliminated.

As a student athlete, Prinzbach was the starting setter for Connecticut (2012–2014) and SUNY Buffalo (2014–2016). She was an integral part of both teams, leading the Huskies in assists in both 2012 and 2013. During her freshman campaign she ranked fourth in the Big East Conference in total assists (the only freshman in the top 9) and led the Huskies to a fourth place finish in conference after a pre-season selection of 10^th. She ranks seventh all time at UConn in assists in a single season with 1,221 in 2013 and set a career-high 58 assists twice during that season. At Buffalo, she produced over 50 assists in a single match twice during her junior season and concluded her collegiate career with 3,518 assists. In 2014, she ranked fourth in the American conference in assists per set.

Off the court, Prinzbach was involved in her school community as a four-year team representative and community service coordinator of each University’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). Prinzbach completed her master’s degree in 2022 receiving a Master of Science in Sports Management from Boston College.