Women's Volleyball
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- joy.fuerbringer@csulb.edu
- Phone:
- 985-8366
Joy McKienzie-Fuerbringer enters her fourth season at the helm of the Long Beach State women’s volleyball team after being named the fifth head coach in program history in 2017.
Under McKienzie-Fuerbringer, Long Beach State made its first postseason appearance in five years as the Beach earned an automatic berth to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) in 2019. LBSU went 12-17 and finished 9-7 in the Big West. The Beach finished the season strong winning four-straight matches over UC Irvine (3-0), Cal State Fullerton (3-0), UC Santa Barbara (3-0), and Cal Poly (3-1), before suffering a sweep at Hawaii to end the regular season and falling to Santa Clara in five sets in the first round of the NIVC.
Long Beach State had four Big West Conference selections as Hailey Harward, Kashauna Williams, and YiZhi Xue were named to the First Team, while Katie Kennedy was selected to the All-Freshman Team.
The Beach finished the 2018 season with a 16-13 overall record and concluded the year on a three-match winning streak picking up victories over UC Riverside, Cal State Fullerton and CSUN. Long Beach State came away with an 8-8 record in Big West Conference action and finished sixth in conference standings.
LBSU boasted five Big West All-Conference selections as senior outside hitter Tyler Spriggs garnered First Team honors. Hailey Harward, Emma Kirst and YiZhi Xue picked up Honorable Mention accolades, while Kashauna Williams was named to the All-Freshman Team.
In her first season at the helm, McKienzie-Fuerbringer’s squad posted a 10-19 overall record and finished sixth in the Big West Conference with a 7-9 mark.
Under McKienzie-Fuerbringer’s tutelage, Long Beach State had four all-conference selections highlighted by sophomore Hailey Harward’s First Team selection. Harward was recognized as a defensive specialist after leading the Beach with 3.65 digs per set. Also collecting all-conference honors were junior Megan Kruidhof and sophomore YiZhi Xue who picked up honorable mention distinction, as well as Radi Marinova who was named to the All-Freshman Team.
Prior to taking on head coaching duties, McKienzie-Fuerbringer was an All-American setter for the Beach, helping lead the program to its second national championship in 1993, and has over 20 years of coaching experience, including stints as an assistant coach at both Long Beach State and UCLA.
During LBSU's national championship season in 1993, McKienzie-Fuerbringer earned First Team All-Big West and First Team All-Northwest Region honors. The senior was also named Second Team All-American by the AVCA, one of three All-Americans on that year's team along with Nichelle Burton and Danielle Scott. McKienzie-Fuerbringer's 1,480 assists during the 1993 campaign rank seventh in program history among single-season assist totals.
She was as an assistant for two seasons in Long Beach from 1999-2001, helping the team to a Final Four appearance in her first year. She would later spend four seasons as an assistant coach at UCLA from 2010-14, winning a National Championship with the Bruins in 2011. McKienzie-Fuerbringer has also been a director and head coach at Mizuno Long Beach Volleyball Club for the last 22 years, and she also owns and manages The MAC Athletic Club in Carson.
Earlier in her coaching career, McKienzie-Fuerbringer was an assistant coach with Golden West College, helping the Rustlers to a pair of state championships in 1997-98. She also served as an assistant coach for the USA Volleyball Youth National Team in 2000, winning a NORCECA gold medal. McKienzie-Fuerbringer also gained some international playing experience, spending time with Martinus Volleyball Club in Holland and Murcia Spain Volleyball Club.
McKienzie-Fuerbringer has a Bachelor’s Degree in liberal studies and sociology from Long Beach State. She and her husband, Matt, have two children, Charlie and Mateo.
