Vol. Assistant Coach: Melanie Kelly (5th Season)
High School: Sterling
College: Rutgers University-Camden (2017)
Major: Psychology
Grad School: University of the Sciences (2021)
Degree: Master’s (Occupational Therapy)
Known by her maiden name of Melanie Kaiser during her four-year career with the Rutgers-Camden volleyball program, Melanie Kelly joined the coaching staff for the 2021 season and returns for her fifth season in 2025.
Coaching has been part of Kelly’s life for years, as she has coached club volleyball for the East Coast Crush (2013-15) and the Marlton Volleyball Club (2015-present day). She also served as the head coach at Camden Catholic High School for the 2017 season.
A libero and defensive specialist, Kelly earned Rutgers-Camden volleyball letters from 2013-16. She served as a team co-captain during her senior year of 2016. That season also saw her earn honors as the New Jersey Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 12) and capture the ECAC Div. III Metro Defensive Player of the Week two days later.
Kelly also captured NJAC Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 8, 2013, and on August 31, 2014.
Kelly ranks second on the program’s career chart for digs (1,662), is fifth in service aces (175), sixth in sets played (408) and tied for eighth in matches played (116). She also notched 69 kills and 165 assists during her career.
Among her many single-season accomplishments, she ranks third in digs (563 in 2013) and sixth in digs (490 in 2016). Her 52 service aces in 2015 are tied for 10th among single-season leaders.
Kelly’s nine service aces against Medgar Evers College (Oct. 24, 2015) rank as the fourth-highest total in program history for a three-set match and her 28 digs against Rutgers-Newark (Oct. 4, 2016) are tied for the second-highest three-set match total. She also collected 39 digs in a match against Baruch College (Aug. 29, 2014), which ranks third on the program list for a five-set match.
A 2017 Rutgers-Camden graduate who earned New Jersey Athletic Conference Academic Honorable Mention as a junior in 2015. She also was named to the inaugural Rutgers-Camden Athletic Director’s Honor Roll during the 2015 Fall semester and repeated her Honor Roll berth during the 2016 Spring and 2016 Fall semesters.
Kelly also was an active member with Rutgers-Camden’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
During her scholastic career at Sterling High School, Kelly was a three-year varsity letterwinner who earned All-Olympic Conference honors three times, including First Team recognition as a senior. She also captured All-South Jersey First Team honors that season, among her numerous other scholastic honors.
A Psychology major with a Biology minor, Kelly graduated from Rutgers-Camden in 2017. She received her Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of the Sciences in May of 2021 and is currently working as an Occupational Therapist in Cherry Hill.
