Kelly Fitzgerald was given the daunting task of building a volleyball program from scratch as she was hired on November 10 as Roosevelt University's first-ever head women's vollyeball coach. The volleyball program will become Roosevelt's eighth varsity sport when the team officially debuts in August of 2011.

Fitzgerald brings plenty of experience to the Lakers, and is no stranger to the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, having served the last six seasons as the head coach at league rival Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). She also was a standout student-athlete at fellow CCAC member St. Xavier, where she later served as assistant coach for three seasons.

At the helm of the Redhawks, Fitzgerald won 20 or more games in four of her six seasons, mentoring 10 All-CCAC performers and two All-Americans. Her student-athletes also excelled in the classroom with nine earning Academic All-America accolades.

Fitzgerald got her coaching start at her alma mater, St. Xavier, where she also starred for the Cougars. During her playing days, the then Kelly Hendry was a three-time All-CCAC performer, capping her career by earning CCAC Player of the Year and NAIA Third-Team All-America honors following the 2000 season.

She then transitioned into a coaching career at St. Xavier, serving as an assistant coach from 2001-2003. During that period, Fitzgerald also coached in the high school ranks, leading the boy's volleyball program at Marist High School in 2001 and the girl's volleyball program at Bloom Township High School from 2002-04.