NC volleyball power Marvin Ridge hires 5-time state champ Zoe Bell as new coach
One of the greatest coaches in N.C. history is heading to Marvin Ridge High School to coach one of the best volleyball programs of the moment.
Longtime Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools coach Zoe Bell, currently working at Ardrey Kell High in south Charlotte, told The Observer that she had accepted the position of head volleyball coach at the Union County school.
Bell plans to finish out the year at Ardrey Kell, while beginning to work with the players at Marvin Ridge in the spring.
At Marvin Ridge, she replaces Brooke Hammers, who announced she was moving to Florida after leading the Mavericks to their second state championship in November. Marvin Ridge also won a state championship in 2018. The Mavericks were state runner-up in 2024.
“I’m coming and I’m committed,” Bell said. “And I’m going to work hard and there will be change. I respect Brooke tremendously. We communicated at least weekly during the year, and I would pick her brain. I’m not going in there to try to outdo her. I’m here to maintain and, at the same time, to put the Zoe Bell touch on it.”
In November, The Observer named Bell one of the top 10 coaches — in any boys’ or girls’ sport — from the past 25 years. She started coaching in CMS in 1983, and worked 17 years at Providence and is in her 17th school year at Ardrey Kell.
In a 36-year career as a head coach, Bell is 809-218 with 19 conference championships, 17 regular-season conference titles, eight regional championships and five state titles.
At Marvin Ridge, Bell takes over a team that is 66-6 over the past two years. The Mavericks have had 17 straight winning seasons.
Marvin Ridge had 13 underclassmen on its state championship roster, which could give Bell an immediate collection of talent to build her program with.
“I love the girls at Ardrey Kell,” Bell said. “But at the same time, I don’t have that many more years in it, and this is another challenge for me. Can I maintain it? Can I make it stay on the top?”
Bell briefly coached at Charlotte Latin, taking over an established program, but she’s basically had to build teams from scratch at Providence and Ardrey Kell.
Now she’s set to take over one of the top programs in the Carolinas.
“It’s a lot of pressure,” Bell said. “That’s a challenge for me. I’m not going to tell you that it’s not a little scary, because it is. But it’s something I’m ready for. I’m up to the challenge. I’m ready.”