NORCROSS JR. BLUE DEVILS
VOLLEYBALL TEAM!
Meet Our Coaches!
Master Coach Karen Murray has played and coached volleyball for over 35 years. Her professional coaching career began in 1994 as Head Coach for Division II Merrimack College (Amhurst, MA) and took a traditionally winless program to a respectable adversary in just 2 years. Once relocated to Georgia, Murray began coaching with Suwanee Sports Academy clinics and the Vertical One Volleyball Club 15 - 1's team in 2005 and then with GA5/A5G from 2011-2016. She has been part of the Norcross High volleyball staff 2009-2023, primarily as Head JV Coach and is now Master Coach of Norcross Junior Blue Devils.
Coach Murray is proud to be a member of the Norcross/Peachtree Corners community. She often substitute teaches at Simpson Elementary and also owns Peachtree Volleyball, a company offering camps, clinics and private lessons to players of all ages. She is married to Brian Murray and has 2 children who went through the Norcross Cluster of the Gwinnett County Public Schools. One is currently playing volleyball at Winthrop University and the other is an alum of Auburn University.
A Team Coach Taylor Hentz is a college student currently in school to become a surgical technician. She has been playing volleyball since her freshman year of high school. She played volleyball at a collegiate level for 1 year at a division 2 school. She has coached girls volleyball for almost 4 years. She cannot wait to return for her 3rd season with NJBD. She is passionate about coaching and is looking forward to sharing her knowledge with all of NJBD's players.
B Team Coach Emma Hill is the Director of Student Ministries just down the street at Simpsonwood United Methodist Church. She grew up in Norcross/Peachtree Corners and is excited to help grow the sport of volleyball in her hometown. Coach Emma grew up playing every sport imaginable, and she finally found volleyball at the end of 8th grade. It was love at first spike! She played at NHS all 4 years and at NAVC, coached at PCBC & the Y, and is now a club coach at A5 Gwinnett. She is passionate about helping girls develop a love for the sport of volleyball and to empower them to become strong, independent young women through sport. She graduated from the University of Georgia with degrees in Psychology and Athletic Training and is a Bulldog through and through but has a soft spot for Norcross Blue Devils in her heart.
B Team Coach Khyle Matthews is a special education teacher in gwinnett county where she has worked for the past 5 years. She grew up in Toronto Canada, with passions in music, dance and sports. Khyle has a variety of backgrounds in many sports: basketball, cheer, softball, soccer, flag football, and her most favorite, volleyball! She has had the honor of coaching gymnastics and volleyball in past, and is so excited to be a part of the Blue Devil family!
C Team Coach Emma Mock is a Junior at Georgia State University. She started playing volleyball at the YMCA when she was 12 and loved getting to learn the sport and develop her skills. She made the freshman volleyball team at NHS and really enjoyed applying the skills she learned the past three years to a more challenging platform. She is very excited to have this opportunity to coach our NJBD girls again and teach them about a sport she loves. She's confident they will enjoy the sport as much as she does!
C Team Coach Ella Mock is a sophomore at GSU majoring in criminal justice. She is an honor student, a Sunday School group leader, & a graphic designer. She started playing volleyball at the YMCA when she was ten, and played all through middle school. She started out knowing nothing about the sport, but put herself out there and tried something new and ended up loving her time as a player! Her goal is to create a safe and fun space for all of the NJBD players to come and learn volleyball. She is very excited to coach our team, and can’t wait to meet the players!