Kelly Murphy spent years telling Naperville Central head volleyball coach Roger Strausberger no. The 2016 Rio Olympic bronze medalist, who works as the school's Learning Commons Assistant, wanted nothing to do with the sport she'd walked away from in 2019.

This spring, she finally said yes.

Murphy joined the Redhawks boys volleyball coaching staff as an assistant for the 2026 spring season, which has since concluded, marking her first coaching role since retiring from a professional playing career that spanned three continents.

"My goal was to try to get her back in the gym and back around the sport that she loved," Strausberger told NCTV17 in a story published Wednesday, June 24.

Murphy's résumé reads like a volleyball encyclopedia. She was the 2007-08 National Gatorade Player of the Year at Joliet Catholic Academy, where her teams went 133-31 over four varsity seasons. At the University of Florida, she set school records with 30 career triple-doubles and became the first Gator to earn four AVCA All-American honors. She turned pro in 2011, playing in Puerto Rico, Italy, Japan, and China before joining Team USA full-time. In 2014, she contributed a team-high 157 points as the U.S. women won their first-ever World Championship gold in Italy. Two years later, she started all eight matches at the Rio Olympics as an opposite hitter, scoring 76 points en route to bronze.

Then she quit. Cold turkey.

"When I was done with volleyball, I wanted to be cold turkey, like no volleyball. I wanted a clean break," Murphy said.

The extensive travel had worn her down. She was missing birthdays, weddings, family milestones. After retiring, she took a year off entirely before spotting an opening in Naperville Central's library.

Teaching Librarian John Hayward hired her, later noting the Olympic logo on her résumé was "immediately impressive" but that he chose her for her skill set. Murphy settled into the Learning Commons role, and most students had no idea their librarian had stood on an Olympic podium.

Strausberger kept asking. Murphy kept declining. Eventually, something shifted.

For the Redhawks, the impact was immediate. Senior outside hitter Lucas Hayes said he was "blown out of the water" when he learned Murphy would coach the team.

"She's always smiling and happy, even when we're down and losing," Hayes said. "She doesn't give up on us."

Murphy acknowledged the transition from elite player to high school coach hasn't been seamless. Translating instinct into instruction requires a different skill.

"Learning how to vocalize things that normally I would have just done when I was playing, that's been a challenge," she said.

Strausberger said Murphy's playing experience gives her an edge reading opposing defenses in real time. The credibility factor doesn't hurt either, he noted: "If you've got an Olympic medal behind you, that automatically ups your credibility scale."

Most students at 440 W. Aurora Ave. still don't know their librarian won a World Championship. Now a few dozen boys volleyball players do.