Volleyball Hires Tori Mellinger as Assistant Coach

Jan. 12, 2017

OXFORD, Miss. Ã¢â‚¬" Ole Miss volleyball head coach Steven McRoberts announced Texas native Tori Mellinger to the staff Friday as assistant coach/recruiting coordinator. Mellinger comes to Oxford with experience at the highest level both as a player and a coach.

"A lot of people applied for this job and Tori rose to the top from the beginning," McRoberts said. "She brings good experience, as she has played and coached in the SEC. She understands winning. During the process I definitely picked up on Tori's positive attitude and work ethic. She was ready to get started as soon as the job was offered. Tori comes to us with very good references and I am thankful that she will be a big part of our program moving forward."

"I want to thank Coach McRoberts for the opportunity to coach at the University of Mississippi," Mellinger said. "I am so excited to take the next step of my career at such a great institution, and can't wait to get started in the gym and on the recruiting trail."

In addition to announcing Mellinger to the staff, McRoberts elevated Ronaldo Pacheco to associate head coach.

"Ronnie has earned this title," McRoberts said. "On the court, he is the best trainer that I've been around. I have enjoyed working with Ronnie the past six years, he is the most loyal assistant a head coach could ask for. I hope I can keep him with me at Ole Miss for a long time."

Mellinger spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach at Arkansas State where she coached the outside hitters and handled the day-to-day operations of the office and travel as well as assisted in recruiting and scouting.

During her first year in 2015, Mellinger helped the team to a 28-2 record, a perfect 16-0 mark in Sunbelt Conference play, a conference tournament championship and its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1999. This past season, Arkansas State finished 25-8, 15-1 in SBC play, and advanced to the conference tournament championship match for the second year in a row.

In 2015, A-State's outside hitters combined for 1,029 of the team's 1,483 kills and also hit at a .259 clip. Additionally, Mellinger helped then-freshman Carlisa May earn Honorable Mention All-American honors from the AVCA and a bundle of other awards including SBC Freshman of the Year, First-Team All-SBC, AVCA Southwest Region Freshman of the Year, and Sun Belt Conference Tournament MVP in 2015. That same year, Mellinger also coached Darby Graff to Second-Team All-SBC honors and AVCA Southwest All-Region Honorable Mention accolades. Graff led the league with a .355 hitting percentage.

Prior to going to Arkansas State, Mellinger spent the 2014 season as a volunteer assistant at her alma mater, Texas A&M. Working on Laurie Corbelli's staff, Mellinger helped Texas A&M to an overall record of 21-9 and 13-5 in the SEC along with an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

As a player at A&M (2009-12), Mellinger finished her career with 1,480 digs, the second most in school history and most in the rally-scoring era. Her senior year, Mellinger helped lead the team to a 25-6 record, including a 16-4 mark in SEC play and an appearance in the NCAA second round.

After spending her first two years at libero, Mellinger moved to outside hitter before her junior season (2011) and helped the team to a 23-8 record and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

In 2009 as a freshman, Mellinger started at libero in all but the first four matches and made an immediate impact in A&M's back row defense. She helped lead the Aggies to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.

Mellinger graduated from Texas A&M in May 2013 with a degree in Sports Management with a minor in communications and coaching.

After graduation, Mellinger played a professional season for SCU Emlichheim in Emlichheim, Germany before starting her coaching career.

For more information on Ole Miss Volleyball, follow the Rebels on Twitter, @OleMissVB, on Facebook at OleMissVolleyball and on Instagram at OleMissVB. Also follow Coach McRoberts on Twitter, @CoachMcRoberts.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

Related News

Related Videos