Fresno State Athletics
Get to know the coaches: Alexandra Kiss
2/16/2019 5:35:00 PM | Water Polo
FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno State water polo program has a new assistant coach this season in Alexandra Kiss. Head coach Natalie Benson announced the addition of Kiss to her staff in June 2018. GoBulldogs.com caught up with the newest member of the Bulldogs' coaching staff.
"Sandra has been an incredible addition to our staff this year," said head coach Natalie Benson. "Her experience, knowledge, and intention to learn and contribute in positive ways has been vital for our young athletes. Her experience as a player is a fantastic resource, as she can provide a different lens to help our staff to the best conclusion that will help our team be successful. Because of her unique experience as a player and a coach, Sandra is able to balance a disciplined coaching approach with an open-door empathy for the athletes and the situations they endure throughout the course of a season. These attributes are most valuable, as she fit right into our staff organically and was able to immediately contribute to the team, giving us the boost we needed. We are so lucky to have Sandra on deck with us, as she is a great partner in building this program, and models our cultural values and expectations daily for our athletes."Â
The Budapest, Hungary native brings an impressive resume to the Bulldogs' bench during their second season. Prior to Fresno State, Kiss was a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Southern California. During her three seasons with the Trojans, Kiss helped guide USC to two national championships (2016, 2018) and a 105-11 record – including an NCAA record 48-game win streak.
Kiss played collegiately at USC from 2007-2010. Kiss left USC as a National Champion (2010) and an All-American (2010). She finished her career ranked No. 10 all-time in career scoring at USC after delivering 142 goals during her four seasons. Before becoming a Trojan, Kiss was a member of the Youth Hungarian National Team and Junior Hungarian National Team.
The native Hungarian most recently played for Club UVSE and was a Hungarian Champion right before she retired, and she also competed in the Euroleague where UVSE placed as the fourth-best team in Europe. In addition, Kiss played in Brazil and Japanese leagues. She finished third in the Brazilian Cup with Club Botafogo and was named MVP and the top scorer of the Brazilian Cup.
We asked her a variety of questions from her international water polo experience to what drew her to join the Bulldog family.
Q: What drew you to Fresno State and how has your experience been?
Kiss: "My main motivation to come to Fresno State was to be a part of this program during such a special time. We are building this program, putting the bricks down one-by-one. That has given me so much motivation to come in everyday and really teach these players. The program at USC is well established, so I didn't feel like I had the same impact on that program as a coach as I do here at Fresno State.
I really don't think I could have made a better choice than joining the staff here at Fresno State. I learn so much every day from coaches Natalie Benson and Caitlin Haskell. We all bring different backgrounds to the table and that broadens my knowledge of the sport, and makes me look at the sport in different ways. There's not just one way to view this game.
The community in Fresno is special. I've never been in such a close knit and supportive community. I really enjoy that."
Q: How did your water polo journey begin?
Kiss: "I played volleyball, European handball, tennis and swam before I started playing water polo. My swim coach quit and I didn't know what I was going to do next. A family friend suggested I try water polo, so I tried out as a 13-year-old girl and never stopped playing. When I was in high school I played club water polo, I was 13 years old playing against 19 year olds. When I was 18 years old getting ready to go to college at USC, I was playing against 30-year-old Olympians. I gained a lot of experience through the club system."
Q: What was the experience like to leave Hungary to play at USC?
Kiss: "It was tough for me. I started school during the spring semester, and I didn't really speak English. That whole first semester was a fog for me. The only English I really knew how to speak was about water polo, so that's how I got through that."
Q: What was it like to win a national championship your senior year?
Kiss: "It was journey, over the four years. It was four years of pain and sweat, as a collegiate water polo player. It was a really nice ending to my collegiate career."
Q: What was it like to play water polo in different international leagues? Â
Kiss: "I was a guest player in Brazil and Japan. I had an amazing experience. As a player, I was able to help those teams reach the next level. In Brazil, they hadn't placed in the top three before I got there. I was really able to make that difference for them. In Japan, they had never made it past the first game of the championship tournament. They were extremely happy that I was there and able to help make that push to get third place finish."
Q: How do you describe this team during its second season?
"Our team works really hard. We have come up with good wins this season, and we battled with UCLA both times we played them. We have a lot of underclassmen on our team. Our sophomore class is building their legacy right now. We are taking it practice by practice, game by game. We are getting better every day and that's all we can ask of them."
What's next – Fresno State will travel to compete in the Tina Finali Tournament hosted by Cal Lutheran Feb. 23.
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" - The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.
"Sandra has been an incredible addition to our staff this year," said head coach Natalie Benson. "Her experience, knowledge, and intention to learn and contribute in positive ways has been vital for our young athletes. Her experience as a player is a fantastic resource, as she can provide a different lens to help our staff to the best conclusion that will help our team be successful. Because of her unique experience as a player and a coach, Sandra is able to balance a disciplined coaching approach with an open-door empathy for the athletes and the situations they endure throughout the course of a season. These attributes are most valuable, as she fit right into our staff organically and was able to immediately contribute to the team, giving us the boost we needed. We are so lucky to have Sandra on deck with us, as she is a great partner in building this program, and models our cultural values and expectations daily for our athletes."Â
The Budapest, Hungary native brings an impressive resume to the Bulldogs' bench during their second season. Prior to Fresno State, Kiss was a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Southern California. During her three seasons with the Trojans, Kiss helped guide USC to two national championships (2016, 2018) and a 105-11 record – including an NCAA record 48-game win streak.
Kiss played collegiately at USC from 2007-2010. Kiss left USC as a National Champion (2010) and an All-American (2010). She finished her career ranked No. 10 all-time in career scoring at USC after delivering 142 goals during her four seasons. Before becoming a Trojan, Kiss was a member of the Youth Hungarian National Team and Junior Hungarian National Team.
The native Hungarian most recently played for Club UVSE and was a Hungarian Champion right before she retired, and she also competed in the Euroleague where UVSE placed as the fourth-best team in Europe. In addition, Kiss played in Brazil and Japanese leagues. She finished third in the Brazilian Cup with Club Botafogo and was named MVP and the top scorer of the Brazilian Cup.
We asked her a variety of questions from her international water polo experience to what drew her to join the Bulldog family.
Q: What drew you to Fresno State and how has your experience been?
Kiss: "My main motivation to come to Fresno State was to be a part of this program during such a special time. We are building this program, putting the bricks down one-by-one. That has given me so much motivation to come in everyday and really teach these players. The program at USC is well established, so I didn't feel like I had the same impact on that program as a coach as I do here at Fresno State.
I really don't think I could have made a better choice than joining the staff here at Fresno State. I learn so much every day from coaches Natalie Benson and Caitlin Haskell. We all bring different backgrounds to the table and that broadens my knowledge of the sport, and makes me look at the sport in different ways. There's not just one way to view this game.
The community in Fresno is special. I've never been in such a close knit and supportive community. I really enjoy that."
Q: How did your water polo journey begin?
Kiss: "I played volleyball, European handball, tennis and swam before I started playing water polo. My swim coach quit and I didn't know what I was going to do next. A family friend suggested I try water polo, so I tried out as a 13-year-old girl and never stopped playing. When I was in high school I played club water polo, I was 13 years old playing against 19 year olds. When I was 18 years old getting ready to go to college at USC, I was playing against 30-year-old Olympians. I gained a lot of experience through the club system."
Q: What was the experience like to leave Hungary to play at USC?
Kiss: "It was tough for me. I started school during the spring semester, and I didn't really speak English. That whole first semester was a fog for me. The only English I really knew how to speak was about water polo, so that's how I got through that."
Q: What was it like to win a national championship your senior year?
Kiss: "It was journey, over the four years. It was four years of pain and sweat, as a collegiate water polo player. It was a really nice ending to my collegiate career."
Q: What was it like to play water polo in different international leagues? Â
Kiss: "I was a guest player in Brazil and Japan. I had an amazing experience. As a player, I was able to help those teams reach the next level. In Brazil, they hadn't placed in the top three before I got there. I was really able to make that difference for them. In Japan, they had never made it past the first game of the championship tournament. They were extremely happy that I was there and able to help make that push to get third place finish."
Q: How do you describe this team during its second season?
"Our team works really hard. We have come up with good wins this season, and we battled with UCLA both times we played them. We have a lot of underclassmen on our team. Our sophomore class is building their legacy right now. We are taking it practice by practice, game by game. We are getting better every day and that's all we can ask of them."
What's next – Fresno State will travel to compete in the Tina Finali Tournament hosted by Cal Lutheran Feb. 23.
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" - The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.
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