Park College Athletics

Melanie played volleyball at Parkland from 2010-2011, leading the team in aces both years. The setter from Champaign compiled multiple accolades following her 2011 season, including NJCAA Region 24 Player of the Year and M-WAC Conference Player of the Year honors, being named to the NJCAA Division II All-American First Team and the Parkland College Female Athlete of the Year. She led the Cobras to a fourth consecutive NJCAA National Tournament appearance, where they finished 9th.
 
After graduating from Parkland College with an Associate’s degree in science, Melanie pursued higher education at Illinois State University, earning Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Communication while playing club volleyball. She excelled in roles at Wolfram Research before becoming a Project Manager at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Melanie and her husband Matt are expecting their first child in March of 2024.