Amherst College Athletics

Karissa Cumberbatch enters her 6th season at the helm of women's volleyball after succeeding Andrea Hoover-Erbig in 2021. Karissa was an assistant coach with the program from 2019-2021. In December 2022, Karissa was named the Director of Men's and Women's Volleyball upon the addition of Men's Volleyball as an athletic offering at Virginia Wesleyan University.

In the fall of 2024 the women's volleyball team finished runner-up in the ODAC Championship Tournament with a 27-6 overall record, and recording an 11-1 record in ODAC play. The program made its second appearance in the NCAA Tournament, receiving the first-ever at-large bid and recording the First NCAA Win in Program History. The Marlins had four All-Conference players, Hannah Smith broke several school records, and she was named All-Region and became the fifth Women’s Volleyball All-American in school history. 

In her third season at the helm of the women's volleyball team she won her second ODAC regular season title in a row with a perfect 12-0 record in ODAC play and posted a 26-6 overall record. Karissa Cumberbatch was named the conference’s Coach of the Year as six players were named all-conference teams headlined by Abigail Mahoney who was also named the ODAC/VA Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Senior Emma Claytor and Mahoney were both named to the AVCA All-Region teams while Claytor was named an AVCA All-American.

In the men's volleyball team's first season, they went 8-18 led by first-year Landon Brinkley who had a team-high 256 kills, recorded 149 digs, and 28 service aces, and Beckham Rombaoa led the team with 469 assists. The Marlins will join the ODAC Conference next season, the future is bright for the men's volleyball program. 

In 2022, the team posted a 20-8 overall record and improved to 11-1 in conference play to win the ODAC regular season title for the first time in program history. 

In her first season at the helm of the Marlin volleyball squad. Karissa led the VWU squad to a 6-0 start through their first six matches of the season, defeating Christopher Newport University in four sets in the season opener, and toppling the Sea Gulls of Salisbury in five sets on the road. After a challenging weekend at John's Hopkins where the Marlins faced three nationally ranked squads, Virginia Wesleyan got back on track going on an 11-0 run to start the ODAC slate. The Marlins entered the postseason ODAC tournament as the No. 3 seed and defeated the Royals of Eastern Mennonite, 3-1, before traveling to the second-seeded Yellow Jackets of Randolph-Macon where Virginia Wesleyan completed a reverse sweep to win the match 3-2 after trialing 2-0 through the opening two sets. VWU dropped the championship match to the top-seeded Generals of Washington and Lee but had a pair of Marlins earn All-Tournament accolades in Emma Claytor and Alexis Davies-Hackenburg. Karissa helped coach five Marlins to ODAC All-Conference honors, including the ODAC Rookie of the Year in Emma Claytor, who also garnered AVCA All-Region VI Rookie of the Year and VaSID Rookie of the Year accolades. Setter Haley Sutton also saw VaSID All-State accolades for her efforts during the season. 

The Greeley, Colorado, native came to Virginia Wesleyan with a plethora of volleyball knowledge having played at both the NCAA Division I and II levels and having coached at the club and high school levels for 11 years. Since 2010, Karissa has been the 18 National Coach and Recruiting Coordinator for Coastal Hampton Roads VBC. She has helped over 100 high school student-athletes achieve their dream of playing at the next level while helping them prepare mentally and physically for the challenge of playing collegiate volleyball. She is also the Assistant Director/Volleyball Coordinator of the Coastal Hampton Roads Sportsplex helping grow the game of volleyball on the peninsula.

Prior to joining the Marlins Volleyball coaching staff, Karissa was the Grafton High School Head Girls Volleyball Coach from 2013-2019. Her guidance helped lead the squad to the Final Four in five straight years and the state finals in 2017 and 2018. Over that span, she was also crowned Regional Champions twice, Regional Coach of the Year three times, and District Coach of the Year three times. She was a member of the VHSL Coaches Advisory Committee and holds a personal/group training certification from the Athletic and Fitness Association of America.

Karissa attended Northridge High School where she was a four-year starter, captain, and current record holder. Her club team, Five Star Volleyball Club (of Brighton, Colorado), qualified for the Junior Olympics twice and finished in the top 15 in the open division. Karissa continued her playing career at the University of South Florida before transferring to Western State College of Colorado where she earned her degree in Sports and Fitness Management. 

Karissa and her husband Christian live in Norfolk, VA, with their daughter Khloey.

Career Highlights
Seasons with 20+ Wins – 2
All-ODAC Honorees – 5
All-State Honorees – 2
All-Region Honorees – 1