Jennifer Kessy

Jennifer "Jen" Anne Kessy (born July 31, 1977) is a retired American professional beach volleyball player on the AVP Tour.[1] She currently is the coach of April Ross and Alix Klineman.[2]

Jennifer Kessy
Personal information
Full nameJennifer Anne Kessy
Nationality United States
Born (1977-07-31) July 31, 1977
San Clemente, California
HometownSan Juan Capistrano, California
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Beach volleyball information
Current teammate
Years Teammate
2015– ? Emily Day
Previous teammates
Years Teammate
2013–
2007–2013
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
April Ross
Nancy Mason, Rachel Wacholder
Holly McPeak, Mason, Wacholder
Barbra Fontana
Jenny Pavley, Barbra Fontana
Heather Lowe, Cary Wendell
Lowe, Angie Maredith, Simpson
Angie Simpson
Medal record
Women's beach volleyball
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
2012 London Beach
World Championships
2009 Stavanger Beach

Early years

Growing up in Southern California, Kessy excelled at multiple sports. In high school, she was the MVP of the swim team her junior year and the captain and the MVP of the volleyball team her senior year, earning honors as an All-California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) second team. In 1994, she graduated from Dana Hills High School in Dana Point, California.[3]

College

Kessy continued her athletic excellence while attending the University of Southern California. She was a member of the volleyball team for all four years (1995–1998) and was named an All-American her senior year.[4] Also, she was a member of the U.S. Junior National Team.[3][5] Kessy graduated from USC with a bachelor's degree in history.[3][5][6] Kessy was also a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

Professional career

After signing a six-month contract for about $25,000, Kessy played indoor volleyball professionally under the coaches Gido Vermeulen (head, The Netherlands) and Christine Masel (assistant, DePaul University and University of Illinois) for the USPV Chicago Thunder which finished runners-up (10-8) in the USPV in 2002.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] In November 2002 with the collapse of the USPV, she signed with the team Pinkin de Corozal in Humacao, Puerto Rico, for the 2003 season and finished sixth overall for points in the LVSF.[16][17][18][19]

Kessy competed with the Olympian Barbra Fontana in 2004 and the Olympic Bronze Medalist and three-time Olympian Holly McPeak in 2005.

Teaming up with her fellow USC Trojan April Ross in 2007, the tandem then became one of the most successful teams in the world. On July 4, 2009, Kessy and Ross won the FIVB World Championships in Stavanger, Norway, defeating the Brazilians Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca.[5][6]

As of April 2012, Kessy had ten AVP and nine FIVB first-place finishes overall, as well as over $1,223,635 in total prize money.[5]

In the spring of 2012, Kessy signed as a CoverGirl model for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[20]

In the 2012 London Olympics Kessy and Ross finished with the silver medal, when they lost to their fellow countrywomen Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings in the championship game by the scores of 16-21 and 16–21.

Kessy did not play in the 2014 season due to her pregnancy with her first baby.[21] She returned to the AVP tour in 2015 and teamed up with her fellow Californian Emily Day to begin the 2015 season.[22]

Coaching career
  • 2018 - Coaching April Ross & Alix Klineman, the #1 US team. April Ross & Alix Klineman won the first FIVB tournament of 2018.
  • 2017-2018 - Coaching Winter Beach Elite Team at American Beach Volleyball Club at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, California

Personal life

Kessy married French beach volleyball player Andy Cés in 2013. The pair have a daughter and son.

Awards and honors
  • 1994 All-California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) second team (volleyball)[3]
  • 1998 All-American in volleyball[4]
  • 2004 AVP Most Improved Player[5][6][20]
  • 2008 AVP "Best of the Beach"[20]*
  • 2009 AVP "Best of the Beach"[20]*
  • 2009 USA Volleyball Beach Team of the Year (shared with April Ross).[6]

An asterisk denotes that Ms. Kessy was the only player to be named the AVP "Best of the Beach" for two consecutive years.[20]

Clubs

References
  1. AVP Players: Jennifer Kessy Archived 2010-02-09 at the Wayback Machine
  2. "FIVB Fort Lauderdale: New role for coach Jen Kessy, mixed results for USA pairs". March 2018.
  3. "Jennifer Kessy". University of Southern California (USC) Trojans Women's Volleyball. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  4. "All Americans". USC Trojans. Archived from the original on August 26, 2009. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
  5. "Jennifer (Kessy) Boss". Beach Volleyball Database. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  6. "Jennifer Kessy". USA Volleyball. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
  7. PR Newswire (November 13, 2001). "USPV Introduces Chicago Women's Professional Volleyball Team". PR Newswire Association LLC. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
  8. Almer, Ellen (November 14, 2001). "Volleyball league spikes interest". Crain's Chicago Business. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
  9. Merkin, Scott (November 14, 2001). "Chicago thunders into new pro league". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
  10. Press Release (November 28, 2001). "Saint Xavier's Shannon Center to be Home of Chicago's Professional Women's Volleyball Team". Saint Xavier University (SXU). Archived from the original on February 9, 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
  11. Rittenberg, Adam (February 11, 2002). "Big turnout as volleyball thunders into Chicago". Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois).
  12. Rose, Devin (March 27, 2002). "Rumble of Thunder". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
  13. OSC (May 5, 2002). "Chicago Thunder Schedule". Our Sports Center. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
  14. Miazga, Mike (August 13, 2002). "Thunder's Kessy Finishes 9th at AVP Stop". Director Media Relations, USPV/Chicago Thunder. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
  15. Merkin, Scott (February 1, 2003). "USPV shuts down, eyes a 2004 return". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
  16. Figueroa Cancel, Alex (November 15, 2002). "Corozal negocia con Jennifer Kessy". Primera Hora. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
  17. Rosa Candino, Jessica (December 30, 2002). "Estaban cojas, pero ganaron". Primera Hora. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
  18. "Lideres del Torneo Superior Femenino 2003". Club de Voleibol Pinkin de Corozal. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
  19. "Resultados Pinkin 2003". Club de Voleibol Pinkin de Corozal. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
  20. Alexander, Antoinette (April 25, 2012). "CoverGirl signs U.S. Olympic hopefuls Jennifer Kessy, Marlen Esparza". The Drugstore News. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  21. "Olympic Silver Medalist Jennifer Kessy Announces Return to AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour Partnership with Rising Star Emily Day". AVP. November 18, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
  22. "New Orleans Open Results". AVP. April 24, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
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