Marissa Collins is entering her fourth season with the Central Arkansas volleyball program, as she spent one year as the associate head coach, and enters into her first season as the Director of Volleyball Operations.
With the help of Collins, UCA has totaled an impressive 62-20 overall record and a 35-13Â Southland Conference record during her three-year tenure. As a former UCA setter, Collins led the Sugar Bears from the sidelines, guiding Central Arkansas to a Southland Conference-leading 12.83 assists per set in 2018.
After playing professionally in Sweden for a season, Collins took a position as a graduate assistant at Mississippi State, joining former UCA head coach David McFatrich and helping to lead the Bulldogs to two of the most successful seasons in program history. She helped MSU’s setters to 1,543 assists in 2016, the third-highest total in program history and the most since 1997.
Collins, one of the most highly-decorated players in Sugar Bear history, spent four seasons as the starting setter for UCA. She started all 36 of Central Arkansas’ matches in 2010, becoming the first player in Southland Conference history to garner Freshman of the Year and Setter of the Year honors while ranking 15th in the nation with an average of 11.54 assists per set in her first season in Conway. That year, UCA won the Southland Conference with a 15-1 record.
Collins was named to the All-Southland Conference Second Team during her sophomore season, having averaged 10.4 assists per set while helping guide UCA to a first place finish in the East Division of the SLC. During her junior campaign, Collins was a force for the Sugar Bears, leading the league and finishing third nationally with 12.42 assists per set, earning Setter of the Year, All-SLC First Team and All-SLC Tournament honors. That season, UCA won the Southland Conference regular season and tournament championships and made its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
As one of the most successful student-athletes in UCA history, regardless of sport, Collins closed out her collegiate career in spectacular fashion, finishing fourth in the nation with 12.07 assists per set to become the first player in Southland Conference history to earn Player of the Year and Setter of the Year honors in the same season. She helped lead the Sugar Bears to a perfect 18-0 record in league play and a second-consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. During her four years in Conway, Collins set a program record for career assists with 5,466 while putting up three of the top-10 single season assist numbers in program history.
