Kelly Cheng

Kelly Cheng
Cheng attempting to block a volleyball in 2016
Personal information
Full nameKelly Marie Cheng
BornKelly Marie Claes
(1995-09-18) September 18, 1995
Fullerton, California, U.S.
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[1]
Sport
Country United States
SportBeach volleyball
College teamUSC Trojans
PartnerMegan Kraft (2026–)
Former partners
Medal record
Women's beach volleyball
Representing the  United States
World Championships
2023 Tlaxcala Beach
World Tour Finals
2022 Doha Beach
World Tour
2021 Sochi Beach
2021 Ostrava Beach
2022 Hamburg Beach
2022 Torquay Beach
2022 Torquay Beach
2023 Tepic Beach
2024 Ostrava Beach
2018 Xiamen Beach
2019 The Hague Beach
2019 Espinho Beach
2023 Gstaad Beach
2019 Qinzhou Beach
2024 Doha Beach

Kelly Marie Cheng (née Claes, born September 18, 1995) is an American beach volleyball player. She and her partner Sara Hughes won the bronze medal at the 2013 U19 World Championships, the silver medal at the 2014 U21 World Championships, the gold medal at the 2023 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships and back-to-back NCAA Championships in 2016 and 2017.

Early life

Kelly Claes was born in Fullerton, California, to Paul Claes, a former San Diego State baseball player, and Quincy Claes. She played high school volleyball at El Dorado High School in Placentia, California, where she was awarded All-CIF Division 1A and Orange County Register All-Orange County first team honors.[2] Along with partner Sara Hughes, she won the bronze medal at the 2013 FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships and the silver medal at the 2014 FIVB Beach Volleyball U21 World Championships.[2]

College

Claes began playing volleyball at the University of Southern California with partner Alexa Strange in 2014.[2] During her sophomore year, she rejoined former partner Sara Hughes and won the AVCA Pairs National Championship.[1] Claes was named a 2015 AVCA All-American. During their junior and senior years Claes and Hughes led the USC Trojans to back-to-back NCAA Championships in 2016 and 2017. In 2016, Claes won the inaugural Pac-12 Player of the Year award along with Pac-12 Pair of the Year and the Pac-12 Pairs Championship with Hughes. Claes graduated in 2017 with a degree in sociology.

Professional career

In her first year as a professional, Claes won her first AVP Gold Series Championships in Chicago with college partner Sara Hughes. The duo became the youngest team to win an AVP event.[1] Hughes split from Claes in early 2018. Claes then teamed up with Sarah Sponcil. The duo won the silver medal at the 2019 FIVB four-star event in The Hague and then qualified for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo after winning gold medals in Sochi and Ostrava.[3] Following her marriage to her coach Jordan Cheng in 2022, she changed her name to Kelly Cheng.[4]

Cheng and Hughes competed in the 2024 Olympics, but were eliminated in the quarterfinals.[5]

Personal life

Cheng is a Christian.[6] She married her coach Jordan Cheng in 2022.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c "AVP Pro Tour Athlete Kelly Claes". AVP Beach Volleyball. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Kelly Claes – Women's Beach Volleyball". USC Athletics. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  3. ^ "Kelly Claes". Team USA. Archived from the original on December 31, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  4. ^ Mewhirter, Travis (October 4, 2023). "The beauty and challenges of the husband-wife, player-coach dynamic of Kelly and Jordan Cheng". Volleyballmag.com. Retrieved January 15, 2026.
  5. ^ "USA's Kelly Cheng, Sara Hughes eliminated from beach volleyball tournament after loss to Switzerland | NBC Olympics". www.nbcolympics.com. Retrieved January 15, 2026.
  6. ^ Ackerman, Jon. "20 Christ-following U.S. Olympians to watch at the 2024 Paris Games". Sports Spectrum. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  7. ^ "Kelly Cheng". USA Volleyball. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
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