Melo, Smevog Join Volleyball Staff

EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon volleyball head coach Trent Kersten has announced the additions of Giovana Melo and Sarah Smevog to the Ducks' coaching staff. Melo joins the program as associate head coach and Smevog will serve as an assistant coach.

"I am thrilled to announce Giovana Melo as our associate head coach and Sarah Smevog as assistant coach," Kersten said. "Both bring a deep passion for the game that will help drive our program forward. Their innovative coaching and leadership skills are exactly what we need as we continue to build on the tradition of excellence that has been established here.

"I look forward to seeing the positive impact they will have on our team, our student-athletes and our future success."

Melo spent the previous 11 seasons as the head coach at CSU Bakersfield where she led her team to three postseason appearances and two Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament titles. Melo and the Roadrunners advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2014 and 2017 and played in the NIVC in 2021.

Between time playing in the WAC and Big West, Melo coached her CSUB athletes to 27 all-conference accolades, nine WAC All-Tournament awards including two MVP honors and 29 all-academic selections. Eleven of her student-athletes earned first- or second-team certificates including Carol Grasso who was the 2016 WAC Player of the Year.

"I am incredibly excited and grateful for the opportunity to join the Oregon volleyball program," Melo said. "It's an honor to be part of such a prestigious program with a strong tradition of excellence. I look forward to working with the talented athletes, dedicated staff and passionate Duck community as we strive toward continued success."

Melo made an immediate impact in Bakersfield, leading the program to its first-ever WAC Tournament title and subsequent NCAA Tournament appearance in 2014. They repeated the postseason success in 2017 with a second WAC Tournament title and a second appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

During the respective runs, Molly O'Hagan and Aleksandra Djordjevic were the WAC Tournament Most Valuable Players in 2014 and 2017. The Roadrunners beat Seattle U in the 2014 conference title match and UTRGV in the 2017 final. That 2017 title push including a win over top-seeded New Mexico State in the semifinals.

In her first four seasons at CSU Bakersfield, Melo led the Roadrunners to a top-three finish during the regular season including a second-place finish during the 2015 campaign. In 2018, Melo's fifth season, CSUB put together a seven-match winning streak and finished the season with 14 wins.

After a nine-win season in 2019 and the COVID-cancelled season in 2020, Melo had her team back in double figures with an 18-11 season in 2021, its first in the Big West. The Roadrunners also posted 11 conference wins that season on their way to an NIVC appearance.

Prior to her time at CSU Bakersfield, Melo spent six seasons at Western Nebraska Community College. She led her team to five NJCAA Division I Final Four appearances and the 2010 NJCAA national title. In that time, Melo posted a 262-20 record and Western Nebraska won six Region IX championships.

Melo was a five-time Region IX Coach of the Year, four-time AVCA Two-Year College West Region Coach of the Year and four-time AVCA 'Thirty Under 30' recipient during her time at Western Nebraska.

Also a standout player, Melo began her collegiate career at Western Nebraska before transferring to Arizona State. She was a two-year starter at setter for the Sun Devils and served as a team captain in 2004. Melo stayed in Tempe to begin her coaching career where she was an assistant for three years.

She graduated from Arizona State with a bachelor's degree in kinesiology before earning her masters in higher and post-secondary education, also at ASU.

Melo, a native of Ribeirao Preto, Brazil, is married to Trisha Lacey, and the couple has two children, Eva and Leo.

Smevog spent the previous two seasons (2023-24) as an assistant coach with Kersten at LMU. She was also a four-year starter at libero for San Jose State including two seasons with Kersten as head coach. Smevog was a two-time All-Mountain West Conference performer and finished her career with 1,734 digs, good for the second most in SJSU program history.

"I am truly thankful for the opportunity to join the University of Oregon as an assistant coach," Smevog said. "A big thank you to Trent for offering me this continued chance to learn and grow as both a coach and an individual. It's an honors to work alongside such an incredible mentor and friend once again at a prestigious program like Oregon."

In two seasons at LMU, Smevog helped the Lions to a 45-12 overall record including a 29-5 record in West Coast Conference (WCC) play. She also helped coach the team to 13 All-WCC accolades, seven WCC All-Academic selections and an AVCA Honorable Mention All-America pick (Paige Flickinger) in 2024.

This past season, the Lions were the WCC champions and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament having defeated Washington in the opening round. LMU also had a victory over eventual-national seed SMU during the non-conference season. The team ended the year with 25 victories, the most by the program since 2003.

Smevog began her coaching career in 2023 and helped LMU to a 20-6 record and a 13-3 tally during WCC play. That season, the Lions were conference runners-up for their then-highest finish since the 2018 season.

In addition to her standout efforts on the court, Smevog was as strong in the classroom. She was an Arthur Ashe Scholar Athlete, a three-time Mountain West Scholar-Athlete and recipient of the SJSU Transformation 2030 Award. She graduated from San Jose State in 2022 with a B.S. in environmental studies.

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University of Oregon Athletics

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