ROCK HILL, S.C. -- Winthrop University volleyball Head Coach Heather Gearhart has announced the hiring of storied Winthrop volleyball alum Bella Murray as a Graduate Assistant Coach on Tuesday. 

Murray completed her playing career last season with the Eagles, finishing with 3,135 assists, sixth-most in Winthrop history, going with 863 digs, 77 aces and 366.5 points over 333 sets played across five seasons with the Eagles. 

"I'm very excited to keep Bella on staff and around the program for an additional year," said Gearhart." "She has been around the program and seen the transition between head coaches and offers a lot of value with her familiarity with the university. In addition, having an alumni on staff is invaluable in relating to the athletes, especially being coached by the same coach." 

She broke through immediately, earning Big South Freshman of the Year honors in 2022 along with a spot on the conference's All-Freshman Team and a berth on the VCU Invitational All-Tournament Team. She followed that with back-to-back Second Team All-Conference selections in 2022 and 2023 and was named Big South Player of the Week on Nov. 13, 2023. Her senior season was her best. Murray was named First Team All-Conference and Big South Setter of the Year in 2024, becoming the first Winthrop player to win the award since the conference introduced it in 2021. She backed that up by winning Big South Setter of the Week seven times that season, also making her the first Winthrop player to earn that weekly honor since the Big South established it in 2024. Murray was also recognized for her work in the classroom, earning CSC Academic All-District honors during her career. 

"Bella has always expressed a desire to pursue coaching throughout her time here, stemming from a great volleyball family," Gearhart added. "We are very fortunate we get to be part of the first step of her collegiate coaching path."