During her four-year tenure with the State University of New York at New Paltz women's volleyball team, 2013 alumna Marissa King led the Hawks to two consecutive sweet 16 appearances and helped her team to a remarkable 122-38 record, all while setting an all-time program assist record with 4,639.

Although it has been nearly five years since King has roamed the SUNY New Paltz campus and dominated on the court, her legacy lives on.

"She wouldn't accept good," said coach Matt Giufre, who is in his 16^th season at the helm of the Hawks program. "She needed more and had that cut-throat mentality you want in a student-athlete."
 
Volleyball has always been a passion for King, but her senior season she suffered from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in both hands. As a setter that made playing a painful experience and the toll it took influenced her decision to possibly never step foot on the court again.
 
"I honestly don't know if I'll ever be able to play that much again," King admitted. "I had pretty bad tendonitis in my hands and I'm not sure how much I'll be able to play again."
 
Despite the pain, King refused to miss any time on the court with her team. She was adamant about making each practice and participating in every drill she could, knowing that each repetition was crucial in order to make a repeat appearance in the NCAA tournament.
 
"Nothing could deter her from being the best," Giufre said. "She sacrificed everything physically for the team. She knew she needed time off to heal, but she also knew that time away from setting her younger hitters wouldn't allow the team to reach their full potential. She never missed a rep in practice."
 
However, Carpal Tunnel wasn't the only physical ailment hampering King's senior campaign. She played through an illness in the final three weeks of the season, which included the NCAA Regionals.
 
Giufre knew something wasn't right, and asked King to get checked out at the health center. King refused, knowing she might miss the rest of the year and told her coach she would get better eventually. What King thought was just a case of Strep Throat ended up being a case of Mononucleosis.
 
King was the epitome of putting in 100 percent effort. If that was playing through pain or sickness, or going above her captain duties and establishing secret work outs with her teammates in order for the program to get better, King was more than willing to put in the work.
 
"She saw a need in our team and she filled it with no spectacle," said Giufre. "To go above and beyond like that without needing recognition is exactly what you want out of a captain."
 
King, who is a huge movie buff, started her own version of the iconic movie, "Fight Club," on the volleyball team, but instead of fighting they ran.
 
"It was just something that I did my senior year," said King modestly. "We just had a bunch of new freshmen and we all wanted to get extra workouts in."
 
It was that kind of drive that led King to become the program's all-time assists leader. She recorded over 4,000 assists in her final three seasons, after only posting 611 assists her freshman year with a two-setter offense.
 
However, her reign at the top of the assist leaderboard may be coming to an end this fall.  
 
Maddie Zwickl entered the women's volleyball program as a freshman in 2014, and was thrown into running the offense the year after King left. Zwickl, now at 4,632 assists, is only eight shy of King's mark, and with the Hawks hosting a playoff game on Tuesday, Oct. 31 it is all but inevitable that Zwickl will break the record.
 
"I hope she breaks it. Playing a team sports it's all about what you achieve as a team and I want them to keep going in playoffs and that means she gets the record," said King. "It also means that New Paltz is getting better with each generation. It's great that the next setter up breaks the record and I hope the next setter after her breaks the record again."
 
Following an illustrious college volleyball career, King graduated SUNY New Paltz with a degree in Education, moved back to her home city of Rochester and became a pre-school teacher for the Children's School at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Her ultimate goal is to teach older children, but King said she was happy with starting at the pre-k level as she hopes to work towards her master's degree soon.
 
"I love New Paltz, and I always love visiting for alumni weekend and being on that team and at that school was a great experience," said King. "It makes me a good worker because of all the lessons I learned on that team."
 
Although King has limited her time on the volleyball court, she now plays in multiple leagues associated with the Greater Rochester Area Disc Association (GRADA). She is currently playing with her team, the Ludicrous Speed, in an Ultimate Frisbee league played at Ellison Park in Rochester.
 
"It is a great way to relieve stress and have fun with friends while being active outside," said King. "I love having something that challenges me and requires me to put in time and effort in order to improve, just like volleyball did for me in high school and college."
 
Whether it be getting extra reps in practice, battling with Carapl Tunnel, or organizing extra conditioning outside of practice, King always gave her full effort. She hopes that future generations will follow in her footsteps.
 
"Always give it your everything," she said. "There's certain times I wish I had worked harder or done more so just always give it everything you have."