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Kelly Cheng

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Kelly Cheng
Cheng attempting to block a volleyball in 2016
Personal information
Birth nameKelly Marie Claes
Full nameKelly Marie Cheng
National team United States
Born (1995-09-18) September 18, 1995 (age 29)
Fullerton, California, United States
Height6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[1]
Sport
SportBeach volleyball
College teamUSC Trojans
Partner(s)Sara Hughes (2022–present, 2013–18)
Former partners
Medal record
Women's beach volleyball
Representing the  United States
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Tlaxcala Beach
World Tour Finals
Gold medal – first place 2022 Doha Beach
World Tour
Gold medal – first place 2021 Sochi Beach
Gold medal – first place 2021 Ostrava Beach
Gold medal – first place 2022 Hamburg Beach
Gold medal – first place 2022 Torquay Beach
Gold medal – first place 2022 Torquay Beach
Gold medal – first place 2023 Tepic Beach
Gold medal – first place 2024 Ostrava Beach
Silver medal – second place 2018 Xiamen Beach
Silver medal – second place 2019 The Hague Beach
Silver medal – second place 2019 Espinho Beach
Silver medal – second place 2023 Gstaad Beach
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Qinzhou Beach
Bronze medal – third place 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

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Cheng was born in Fullerton, California, to Paul, a former San Diego State baseball player, and Quincy. 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

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Cheng 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.[3] Cheng was named a 2015 AVCA All-American. During their junior and senior years Cheng and Hughes led the USC Trojans to back-to-back NCAA Championships in 2016 and 2017. In 2016, Cheng 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. Cheng graduated from USC in 2017 with a degree in sociology.

Professional career

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In her first year as a professional, Cheng 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.[3] Hughes split from Cheng in early 2018. Cheng 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.[4]

Personal life

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Cheng is a Christian.[5] She married husband Jordan Cheng in 2022.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "AVP Pro Tour Athlete Kelly". AVP Beach Volleyball. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Kelly Claes – Women's Beach Volleyball". USC Athletics. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  3. ^ a b "AVP Pro Tour Athlete Kelly Claes". AVP Beach Volleyball. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  4. ^ "Kelly Claes". Team USA. Archived from the original on December 31, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  5. ^ Ackerman, Jon. "20 Christ-following U.S. Olympians to watch at the 2024 Paris Games". Sports Spectrum. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  6. ^ "Kelly Cheng". USA Volleyball. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
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