Jennifer "Jen" Anne Kessy (born July 31, 1977) is a retired American professional

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two or more players on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side of th ...

player on the AVP Tour. She currently is the coach of

April Ross April Elizabeth Ross (born June 20, 1982) is an American beach volleyball player and three-time Olympic medalist. She won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics with Jennifer Kessy, a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics with Kerri Walsh ...

and

Alix Klineman Alexandra Rose "Alix" Klineman (born December 30, 1989) is an American beach volleyball, 2020 Summer Olympics gold medalist, and former indoor volleyball player. In high school she was the 2006 Gatorade National Player of the Year. She was a fou ...

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 The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have a ...

(CIF) second team. In 1994, she graduated from Dana Hills High School in

Dana Point, California Dana Point () is a city located in southern Orange County, California, United States. The population was 33,107 at the 2020 census. It has one of the few harbors along the Orange County coast, and with ready access via California State Route 1, ...

College

Kessy continued her athletic excellence while attending the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

. She was a member of the volleyball team for all four years (1995–1998) and was named an All-American her senior year. Also, she was a member of the U.S. Junior National Team. Kessy graduated from USC with a bachelor's degree in

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

. Kessy was also a member of the

Kappa Kappa Gamma Kappa Kappa Gamma (), also known simply as Kappa or KKG, is a collegiate sorority founded at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, United States. It has a membership of more than 260,000 women, with 140 collegiate chapters in the United States ...

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 ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

) and Christine Masel (assistant,

DePaul University DePaul University is a private, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul. In 1998, it became the largest Ca ...

and

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Uni ...

) for the USPV Chicago Thunder which finished runners-up (10-8) in the USPV in 2002. In November 2002 with the collapse of the USPV, she signed with the team

Pinkin de Corozal Pinkin de Corozal is the professional female volleyball team of Corozal, Puerto Rico Corozal () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the central-eastern region, north of Orocovis and Barranquitas; south of Vega Alta; southwe ...

Humacao, Puerto Rico Humacao () is a city and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the eastern coast of the island, north of Yabucoa; south of Naguabo; east of Las Piedras; and west of Vieques Passage. Humacao is spread over 12 barrios and Humacao Pueblo (the ...

, for the 2003 season and finished sixth overall for points in the

LVSF The Liga de Voleibol Superior Femenino (LVSF) is a professional volleyball league in Puerto Rico. The competitions are organized by the Puerto Rican Volleyball Federation (Federación Puertorriqueña de Voleibol, FPV). Current teams Leag ...

. Kessy competed with the Olympian

Barbra Fontana Barbra Fontana (born September 8, 1965) is a professional beach volleyball player from the United States who plays on the AVP Tour. Fontana was the seventh woman to earn $1 million on the AVP Tour. Fontana graduated from Stanford University ...

in 2004 and the Olympic Bronze Medalist and three-time Olympian

Holly McPeak Holly McPeak (born May 15, 1969 in Manhattan Beach, California) is a retired American indoor and beach volleyball player. McPeak was three-times an Olympian in beach volleyball. In the professional circuit, she garnered 72 career beach volleybal ...

in 2005. Teaming up with her fellow USC Trojan

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 Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

, defeating the

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ians Juliana Felisberta Silva and Larissa Franca. 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. In the spring of 2012, Kessy signed as a

CoverGirl CoverGirl is an American cosmetics brand founded in Maryland, United States, by the Noxzema Chemical Company. It was acquired by Procter & Gamble in 1989 and later acquired by Coty, Inc. in 2016. The Noxell Company advertised this cosmetics li ...

model for the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, th ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. In the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Kessy and Ross finished with the silver medal, when they lost to their fellow countrywomen

Misty May-Treanor Misty Elizabeth May-Treanor (; née May; born July 30, 1977) is a retired American professional beach volleyball player. She is a three-time Olympic gold medalist, and , was the most successful female beach volleyball player having won 112 tour ...

and

Kerri Walsh Jennings Kerri Lee Walsh Jennings (born August 15, 1978) is an American professional beach volleyball player, three-time Olympic gold medalist, and a one-time Olympic bronze medalist. She is the beach volleyball leader in career victories as of 2016 hav ...

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. She returned to the AVP tour in 2015 and teamed up with her fellow

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Emily Day Emily Capers ( Day born August 9, 1987, in Torrance, California) is a female beach volleyball player from the United States who won the gold medal at the NORCECA Circuit 2009 in Jamaica playing with Claire Robertson. She studied at Loyola M ...

to begin the 2015 season.

Coaching career

* 2018 - Coaching April Ross & Alix Klineman, the #1 US team.

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. Her cousin Kale Kessy is a professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

player.

Awards and honors

* 1994 All-California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) second team (volleyball) * 1998 All-American in volleyball * 2004 AVP Most Improved Player * 2008 AVP "Best of the Beach"* * 2009 AVP "Best of the Beach"* * 2009 USA Volleyball Beach Team of the Year (shared with April Ross). An asterisk denotes that Ms. Kessy was the only player to be named the AVP "Best of the Beach" for two consecutive years.

Clubs

* Chicago Thunder in the

United States Professional Volleyball League The United States Professional Volleyball League (USPV) was a women's professional volleyball league which existed for one season in 2002. Four teams competed, all in the midwest: the Chicago Thunder, Minnesota Chill, Grand Rapids Force, and St ...

(2002) *

in the

Liga de Voleibol Superior Femenino The Liga de Voleibol Superior Femenino (LVSF) is a professional volleyball league in Puerto Rico. The competitions are organized by the Puerto Rican Volleyball Federation (Federación Puertorriqueña de Voleibol, FPV). Current teams League ...

(2003)

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kessy, Jennifer 1977 births Living people American women's beach volleyball players Beach volleyball players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic beach volleyball players of the United States Olympic medalists in beach volleyball Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics People from San Clemente, California Sportspeople from California 21st-century American women