Volleyball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- walterskj@cofc.edu
- Phone:
- 843-953-6469
An accomplished collegiate volleyball player in her own right, Kaleena Walters enters her second season as an assistant coach at the College of Charleston. A former Penn State women’s volleyball player, Walters helped the Cougars claim their fourth straight Southern Conference Tournament title last season and the program’s fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Several individuals saw the potential impact her skills and experience could bring to an already impressive program when she was hired in 2007, including then first-year head coach Jason Kepner.
“I am extremely happy to have Kaleena join the Cougar volleyball staff,” said Kepner, who followed her four year career at Penn State. “Her competitiveness will be valuable to the program as a coach and recruiter.”
Her former coach at Penn State, Russ Rose, also saw the promise in the young coach, stating that “This position will showcase and highlight the positive energy that she always has available. I feel that everyone around her will benefit. She is a great person and she will become a terrific coach.”
As a libero for the Nittany Lions, Walters guided her team to three Big Ten championships from 2003-2005 and was selected First-Team All-Conference her final two seasons. She was also named All-Region Honorable Mention following her junior season and was named to the All-Region First-Team following her senior campaign.
Walters senior year was one of her most impressive as she was not only named the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year, she was also selected as an honorable mention on the All-America team. She concluded her playing career as one of the more accomplished players in program history and is currently ranked No. 1 all-time on the Penn State career digs list.
As accomplished as she was on the court during her tenure at Penn State, Walters’ was equally impressive in the classroom. For three seasons from 2003-05, she earned Academic All-Big Ten honors and was named to the First-Team Academic All-District Team in 2005. Walters earned a Bachelor’s of Arts in psychology with a minor in human development and family studies in 2006.
Before coming to Charleston, Walters worked with Community Services Group where she assisted with autistic children in behavioral management and daily functioning skills and facilitated treatment plans and goals. She also maintained her connection with volleyball, working with youth at Volleyball Express Camp during the summers as she supervised 15 campers per session on skill enhancement.
Walters' volunteer work has included tenures with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program, LifeLink PSU, Special Olympics and THON.
