Holy Cross Athletics

Matthew Cribbin was named the next head coach of the Holy Cross volleyball program on Dec. 29, 2024, as announced by Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Kit Hughes.

A three-time Northeast-10 Coach of the Year and three-time AVCA East Region Coach of the Year, Cribbin arrives on The Hill from American International College, where he built one of the region’s most dominant programs at the Division II level. He spent the last 13 seasons as the head women’s volleyball coach for the Yellow Jackets, and was promoted to Director of Volleyball in 2021 after the department added a men’s program.

During his tenure, Cribbin won two NCAA East Region Championships and made seven NCAA Tournament appearances, while winning both the NE10 Tournament and regular-season titles a total of three times in 2021, 2022 and 2024.

He amassed a 238-142 record (.626) during his time with the Yellow Jackets, including a 110-48 (.696) record in league games. AIC made conference tournament appearances 11 times throughout his tenure.

Cribbin has coached ??13 AVCA All-Americans, six NE10 Players of the Year, two NE10 Rookies of the Year, two NE10 Defensive Players of the Year and two NE10 Setters of the Year. His players have earned AVCA East Region Player of the Year honors on four occasions, including three-time honoree Andrea Serra-Rosa. In total, his players have amassed 24 AVCA All-East Region selections and 52 NE10 All-Conference selections. An additional 12 student-athletes have received Academic All-Conference honors. 

Most recently, in 2024, AIC made its fourth straight NCAA regional appearance while also winning its third conference title in four years. The Yellow Jackets went on a 20-match win streak during the season, including sweeping their conference slate with a 10-0 record in NE10 action. Cribbin earned NE10 and AVCA East Region Coach of the Year laurels for his achievements. 

Other recent highlights include back-to-back NE10 titles in 2021 and 2022, with the Yellow Jackets posting a 30-win campaign in 2022. Since the start of the 2021 season, AIC has won nearly 100 matches (96-28, .774) with a 41-5 mark (.891) in league games. 

The Yellow Jackets advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals in 2016 and 2018 after AIC won the East Region Championship both of those seasons. AIC’s victory over Le Moyne in the first round of the 2016 East Regional marked the first-ever NCAA Tournament victory for the Yellow Jackets.

Before his successful run at AIC, Cribbin was the head coach at Division III Sarah Lawrence College, where he was named the Hudson Valley Women’s Athletic Conference (HVWAC) Coach of the Year in each of his three seasons (2008-10). Cribbin guided Sarah Lawrence to the 2010 conference championship and led the team to a runner-up finish in 2008. 

He was also named a 30 Under 30 Award recipient by the AVCA, which honors 30 of the up-and-coming volleyball coaches under 30 years old in the sport at all levels of the game.

A native of Madison, Connecticut, Cribbin earned his bachelor’s in sports management from the University of New England in May 2008. He served as a student assistant with the Nor’Easters’ women’s volleyball team for three seasons while also serving as head coach and captain of the men’s club volleyball team.