Bio

Coach Chrisman will be going into her sixth season with the Plainswomen after a successful 2023 season.

2023 - Coach Chrisman comes off of her best season at NJC and arguably one of the best in program history. The Plainswomen went 36-3, with a perfect 10-0 record in conference and earning the Region 9 Championship Title. NJC started the season 12-0, winning 32 straight sets before dropping 2 matches back to back. The Plainswomen then went on a 22 match win streak, which was the longest in the NJCAA in 2023.

NJC went 3-1 at the national tournament. They defeated Mineral Area, suffered a heartbreaking loss to Navarro, but then bounced back beating Weatherford College and Salt Lake to finish 5th in the nation. NJC had 4 All-Region players, the Region 9 Player of the Year, Freshmen of the Year and Ssetter of the Year. Northeastern also had 3 all-tournament players and tournament MVP.  They had one player named to the NJCAA All-Tournament team and two players named NJCAA first team All-American. During the season, coach Chrisman won her 100th career game. Chrisman was named Region 9 South Coach of the Year, Northwest Plains District A Coach of the Year and AVCA West Region Coach of the Year.

2022 - The Plainswomen made their fifth consecutive National Appearance after winning the Northwest Plains District Championship. NJC Plainswomen finished tied for 13th at the National Tournament and had a 25-15 record.  Northeastern had 4 All Region Players, the Region Libero of the Year, and three All-Tournament Players. Coach Chrisman was named Northwest Plains District B Coach of the Year.

2021 - Chrisman had her most successful conference season since taking over. The plainswomen went undefeated in conference play as well as won the Region IX championship. The team finished with a 24-12 record which included Coach Chrisman’s 50^th Win as Head Coach. The Plainswomen had four All-Region Players, the Region IX Libero of the year, three All-Region Tournament Players, and the All-Region Tournament MVP. NJC finished the year at Nationals earning a top 12 finish. Coach Chrisman was awarded the Region IX South Coach of the year as well as the AVCA West Region Coach of the year. Coach Chrisman was also asked to join the AVCA Two-Year Head Coaches Committee.

2020 - In a shortened season due to COVID, Chrisman led the Plainswomen to a 22-10 record. For a third year in a row the Plainswomen earned a bid to the National tournament and ended with a 10^th place finish. The Plainswomen had four All-Region players, the Region Libero of the year, Three All-Tournament Player, one All-American and one All-National Tournament Team player.

2019 - Coach Chrisman was the Interim Head Coach while Coach Squier was on leave. During that time the Plainswomen were 12-4. The Plainswomen finished the year 25-12 with an 8^th place finish at Nationals. Coach Chrisman was awarded the AVCA Two Year Assistant Coach of the Year Award.

Coach Chrisman was named Head Coach in January 2020 

Mackenzie Chrisman came to Northeastern in the spring of 2019 and was named the head coach in the spring of 2020. She is a native of Sterling, Colo., and attended Sterling High School where she competed in three sports: volleyball, basketball, and track. Throughout her high school career, she received seven all-conference awards and two all-state awards. Upon graduating from Sterling, she continued her volleyball career at Chadron State College. While there she was a top-three scorer and led the team in blocks. After two years, Chrisman transferred to the University of West Florida (UWF); a top-ranked NCAA Division II school. In her two years there, Chrisman helped her team reach their highest-ever national ranking of 10th in the AVCA poll in 2018, two Gulf South Conference Championships (GSC), and a bid into the NCAA D2 national tournament both her junior and senior years.  In her senior year, she was again a top-three scorer for UWF. Being goal-oriented and passionate about blocking, she set out to and broke the UWF individual season blocking record with 141 blocks that was previously set in 2002.  

At the conclusion of her career, she was named to the 2018 GSC All-Tournament Team, First Team All-GSC Conference, and First Team D2CCA All-South Region recognition which led to a nomination for All-American honors. She also earned Fall All-GCS Academic honors and individually finished her senior year ranked 13th for blocks per set and 15th for total blocks on the NCAA DII national stat leader board.  

Chrisman comes to Northeastern while finishing an undergraduate degree in informal education. While in Florida, Chrisman began her love of coaching by assisting on a club volleyball team as well as coaching individual athletes working on their personal development. She looks forward to transitioning from teammate to coach, working with and developing athletes at Northeastern and is excited to give back to the community that gave her so much while growing up.