In her first year at the helm, Bliss' enthusiasm manifested itself in the form of the best women's lacrosse season to date in the program's three decades. Led by the then-23-year-old interim coach, the Green Terror turned in a 13-4 record, including a program-best nine-game winning streak. McDaniel followed its first Centennial Conference (CC) playoff appearance with a run to the ECAC semifinals under Bliss in 2004 before advancing to the ECAC championship game the next season. In her five seasons at the helm, Bliss has guided the squad to a 56-30 mark.

Bliss began her coaching career as a graduate assistant at McDaniel in the fall of 2003, immediately following a successful academic and athletic career at Goucher College. She completed her master's in education at McDaniel in the summer of 2004.

A three-time all-conference selection in field hockey and two-time nod in lacrosse, she also received all-region honors on the lacrosse field and was selected to play in the North/South Senior All-Star Game. Bliss was also a three-time field hockey captain and two-year lacrosse captain for the Gophers.