ORANGEBURG, SC (January 31, 2023) – Melissa Robinson, a former volleyball standout at South Carolina State, has been named Lady Bulldog Head Volleyball Coach, Acting Athletics Director Keshia Campbell announced Tuesday. Robinson will begin her duties Feb.1st.
Robinson, who has twelve years of experience, including eight as a head coach, is no stranger to Orangeburg and SC State. The Tallahassee, FL native was a standout volleyball player for SC State during her collegiate career (2009-2011). She ranks second all-time in digs at the school and was a member of the 2010 SCSU team that captured the second of the school’s two Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference volleyball championships and earned a berth in the NCAA Volleyball Championship. Robinson and the other members of that squad were enshrined in the SCSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2021 (Class of 2020).
“Coach Robinson brings experience, integrity and commitment to our program as she returns to SC State as our head volleyball coach,” said Campbell, “I am confident that she has the leadership and coaching skills that will enable our volleyball student-athletes to be successful. She has a great demeanor and comes highly recommended by current and former employers as well as several SCSU volleyball alumni who were instrumental in the successes of our program. I look forward to having her back on our team.”
Robinson takes over the SC State volleyball program following a head coaching stint at Alcorn State, where she became the fourth-winningest coach in school history and coached the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Newcomer of the Year.
“I’m honored to be welcomed back home to the place where it (my career) all started,” Robinson said upon accepting the position. “I’d like to thank President Conyers, AD Campbell and the search committee for giving me the opportunity to lead the volleyball program. It’s truly an exciting feeling.”
Robinson began her coaching career in 2013 as an assistant at SCSU — her alma mater – where she earned a bachelor’s in sport communication in 2012. She later joined the staff at Claflin as an assistant and helped lead the school to its first Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) and first appearance in the NCAA Division II Championship. She coached the SIAC’s MVP and several members of the All-SIAC Tournament Team.
Robinson’s first head coaching appointment was at Tuskegee, also of the SIAC, where she spent two seasons, 2015-2016. She compiled an 18-14 record in her first season, the school’s first winning campaign since 1997, finished third in the SIAC’s Western Division and earned the second seed in the league tournament. She also coached the league’s Co-Player of the Year and several All-SIAC performers. Tuskegee also produced a member of the 2015 Div. II Conference Commissioner’s Association All-South Region Team.
After two seasons at Tuskegee, Robinson accepted the head coaching position at Auburn – Montgomery, where she started the school’s first volleyball program as a member of the Div. II Gulf South Conference (GSC). She spent two seasons there before going to Alcon State in 2019 as head coach, her final stop before coming to SC State.