Alfred University Athletics

Hired at AU:	February of 2017
Prior to AU:	Assistant Coach at SUNY New Paltz (2014-2016)
Playing Career:	SUNY Potsdam (2010-2013)
Alma Mater:	SUNY Potsdam '14
Personal:	A native of Walkill, NY, Pruiss currently resides in Rochester, NY

 
Dakota Pruiss was appointed as the Head Coach of the women’s volleyball team at Alfred University in February 2017. She became the 16th Head Coach in program history. 

Since taking over the helm at AU, Pruiss has led the Saxons to back-to-back Empire 8 Championship tournament appearances - a feat that had previously not been accomplished in program history. The team set another program record as they earned the AVCA Team Academic Award in consecutive seasons. During the 2020 season, Pruiss led the Saxons to their first Empire 8 Conference Tournament win in program history. 

Off the court, Pruiss also coached one of the most influential players in AU volleyball history, Elisabeth Estep '19, who was a Coach Wooden Citizen Cup Finalist.
 
New Paltz enjoyed tremendous success during Pruiss’s tenure there, compiling a record of 72-31 record (24-3 in league play) in three seasons. The team won a State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) championship in 2014, the second in program history, and was SUNYAC championship tournament runners-up in 2015 and 2016.
 
Pruiss, who coached the defense at New Paltz, helped guide 11 New Paltz players to all-conference honors, including two league Players of the Year, a Co-Player of the Year, a Rookie of the Year, and a Defensive Player of the Year. Two of the squads Pruiss helped coach – the 2014-15 and 2015-16 teams – earned American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Awards.
 
In addition to coaching at the collegiate level, Pruiss has also been active as a coach with Iroquois-Empire Volleyball Association (IREVA) High Performance, a regional volleyball program run through USA Volleyball, which covers Eastern New York. Since 2014, she has served as assistant coach for IREVA High Performance, mentoring some of the top high school players in the state, and since January 2016 has been the organization’s assistant director. In the summer of 2015, she was head coach of IREVA’s women’s professional team, which competed in the Premier Volleyball League.
 
Since 2011, she has served as head coach of the Hudson Valley Alliance (HVA) Club youth team, and since 2015 has served HVA as assistant club director.
 
Pruiss is a graduate of SUNY Potsdam, where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mathematics in 2014. While at Potsdam, she was a member of the women’s volleyball team, serving as team captain in 2012 and 2013.
 

Conference Championship Appearances:	2017, 2018, 2020

 

Empire 8 All-Conference Honors:	7

 
 

Alfred University	Overall Record	Empire 8 Record	Postseason	Year-End Finish
2021	10-14 (.417)	2-6 (.250)	N/A	7th (of 9)
2020	5-6 (.454)	3-3 (.500)	1-1	Empire 8 Championship Semifinalist
2019	9-19 (.321)	2-5 (.286)	N/A	6th (of 8)
2018	7-21 (.250)	5-3 (.625)	0-1	Empire 8 Championship Semifinalist
2017	9-21 (.300)	4-4 (.500)	0-1	Empire 8 Championship Semifinalist
Overall Totals	40-81 (.331)	16-21 (.432)	1-3 (.250)	--