A former All-Northwest Conference standout for the Boxers, Melissa Stern enters into her third season as a Pacific assistant coach in 2016.
Stern, formerly Melissa Dunn, was a four-year starting outside hitter for the Boxers from 2005-2008. A Second Team All-NWC selection as a senior, Stern led the team in aces in each of her final three seasons and also ranked among the team leaders in kills and kills per set. Stern currently holds Pacific single match records for attack percentage (.727) and attack attempts (84).
Since graduation, Stern has worked as an assistant coach for both Tualatin High School and the Athena Volleyball Academy, run by former Pacific standout Lena Chan.
Stern played her prep volleyball at Justin-Siena High School in Sonoma, Calif., where she was a three-time All-Marin County Athletic League and All-Marin County selection.
When not coaching, Stern works as a certified public account for the firm of McGinnis & Carey in Portland. Stern graduated from Pacific in 2009 with a degree in accounting.
Part of a volleyball hungry family, Stern’s husband, Ben, is also an assistant coach with the Boxers. Her sister, Heather, played at Gonzaga and her other sister, Stephanie, played at NCAA Division II Sonoma State. Her father, Mark, is a former Pacific assistant coach and is the current head coach at Clark College. Her mother, Marie, is a local volleyball official.
Ben and Melissa are the proud parents of a baby girl born in July of 2015, Dinah.
