top of page
Olympic rings on Eiffel Tower in Paris
Kelly Cheng

Kelly Cheng

Sport

Beach Volleyball

Country

United States

USC Affiliation

Lettered 2014-17

Olympic Experience

'20

AT USC

· Four-year starter at USC

· Three-time national champion (2015 AVCA, 2016-17 NCAA)

· 2015 AVCA Pairs National Champion (with Sara Hughes)

· 2017 USAV Pairs National Champion (with Hughes)

· Two-time Pac-12 champion (2016-17)

· Two-time Pac-12 pairs champion (2016-17 with Hughes)

· Three-time AVCA All-American (2015-17)

· Two-time DiG Magazine All-American (2016-17)

· 2017 DiG Magazine Blocker of the Year

· 2017 Volleyball Magazine Pair of the Year (with Hughes)

· Two-time Pac-12 Pair of the Year (with Hughes)

· Two-time Pac-12 Player of the Year (2016-17)

· Two-time Pac-12 All-Conference choice (2016-17)

· Two-time NCAA All-Tournament Team selection (2016-17)

· Compiled 181 career collegiate victories (second all-time at USC) and had a .943 winning percentage (also second)


PRO and INTERNATIONAL

· Reigning FIVB Beach World Champion with Sara Hughes

· Qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Games with Sarah Sponcil and advanced to the round of 16 to finish in a ninth-place tie

· Qualified for the 2024 Paris Games with college teammate Sara Hughes and are the sixth-ranked pair in the world in the FIVB rankings

· She and Hughes were the youngest team ever to win an AVP title when the duo won the AVP Chicago Open in 2017

· Played in 40 AVP events with five first-place finishes

· Played in 73 FIVB events with nine first-place finishes

· Two-time AVP Best Offensive Player (2022-23)

· 2022 AVP Most Valuable Player

· 2022 VolleyballMag.com AVP Best Offensive Player and MVP

· Two-time VolleyballMag.com Breakthrough Player (2017-18)

· 17-career victories in pro events; 13 of those with Hughes


FAST FACTS

· Played most of her collegiate career with Sara Hughes and compiled a 147-4 record as a pair with an incredible NCAA-record 103-match win streak

· Married to Jordan Cheng who also serves as a co-head coach for Cheng-Hughes

· Was the top-rated beach volleyball recruit coming out of high school in 2014

· Father Paul Claes played baseball at San Diego State

bottom of page