SUNY Cortland Athletics

Ariel Rakita enters her first season as an assistant coach on the Cortland women’s volleyball staff in 2013. Prior to joining the Red Dragons, Rakita served as an assistant coach at Buffalo St. in 2011 and 2012. While with the Bengals, Rakita helped guide the program to its first-ever undefeated SUNYAC West record and regular-season title and conference championship game appearance.

Rakita was a four-year member of the Cortland volleyball team as an outside hitter. She was a two-time team captain, earned second team All-SUNYAC honors as a junior and was named to the SUNYAC All-Tournament Team and received Cortland’s Red Letter Award as a senior.

Rakita, who earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education at Cortland and master’s degrees in liberal arts and coaching from Stony Brook, also is a lecturer in Cortland’s physical education department.

A native of Ronkonkoma, N.Y., Rakita competed in volleyball and basketball at Sachem North High School.