Team Details

Sandy has over 25 years of experience coaching volleyball. She is Co-Founder of NC Elite Volleyball Club, Inc. (founded in 2007), and currently serves as President, Master Coach and Board Chair. She has been involved with club volleyball administration and coaching since 2000, and in the Raleigh area since 2003. While coaching, Sandy successfully led her teams to qualify for the USAV Junior Olympic National Championships in every season she coached, and won several Regional and Divisional Championships. In addition to her club volleyball coaching experience, Sandy has coached numerous collegiate camps throughout Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, and coached junior high school volleyball in her hometown, Cincinnati OH. Most recently, Sandy served as Varsity Head Coach at Saint Mary’s School in Raleigh, transforming the program to their first winning season in over a decade within 2 years. Collegiately, Sandy was a 3 sport NCAA Division 1 scholarship athlete: a 4-year letter winner and three- time all-conference setter and MVP with the UNC Charlotte Women’s Varsity Volleyball Team, MVP of the Women’s Varsity Track Team (4 varsity letters) and starting midfielder for the 1995 Conference USA Championship UNC Charlotte Women’s Varsity Soccer Team (1 varsity letter). She completed her collegiate career holding career and single season school records in assists, digs and service aces, as well as an NCAA Division 1 national ranking of 14th in all-time career assists. In high school, Sandy played volleyball for the nationally recognized Cincinnati Seton. She led her team to numerous GGCL Conference, Regional, and Ohio State Championships while earning all-conference, all-region, and all- state honors. Apart from her athletic accomplishments, Sandy holds a Ph.D. in Biotechnology and a B.A. in Psychology. She completed her post-Doctoral training at the UNC Chapel Hill School of Medicine. Sandy has held various executive and leadership positions in the applied biotechnology and life sciences industries, focusing on strategy, innovation, and technology development. She has founded five companies and currently dedicates her time to building and launching new technologies, programs, and platforms in collaboration with her co-founders and development teams. (LinkedIn). Sandy has also served on various boards and advisory committees, currently serving as Board Member and Governance Committee Chair for the NC State Institute for Emerging Issues, a preeminent think tank pursuing solutions to North Carolina's challenges to strengthen the future competitiveness of the State. On a personal note, Sandy is happily married to Gary DeJames, and they have a son named Nicholas. They also share their home with three dogs, Indy, Laken, and Annie.

Gary has over 25 years of coaching at the high school and Junior Olympic level. He is Co-Founder, Executive Director, and Coach for NC Elite Volleyball Club, and for the past three seasons has served as the Lead Training Coach and Varsity Assistant Volleyball Coach at Saint Mary's School in Raleigh. Throughout his career, Gary has also held Varsity Volleyball Head Coaching positions at Saint Mary's School, Sanderson High School and Broughton High School in Raleigh, Cresset Christian Academy in Durham and East Aurora High School and Lackawanna High School in Buffalo, NY. Gary's coaching expertise has been recognized through various awards, including the Cap-6 Conference Coach of the Year in 2003 (Sanderson High School) and the Carolina Christian Conference Coach of the Year in 1998 (Cresset Christian Academy). He was also selected as Western New York All-Star Coach in 1996. Originally from Buffalo, NY, Gary developed his passion for volleyball while playing at the high school, club and collegiate levels in the area. He holds a BS in Health and Wellness from the State University of New York College at Buffalo, where he also played volleyball for the Men's club team. During his time there, Gary served as the captain and club director of the program in his final two seasons. Aside from coaching, Gary has a lifelong dedication to the sport and has been competing in competitive volleyball for over 35 years. His accomplishments include winning numerous indoor and outdoor events, including securing a 1st place finish at the 2005 USAV Men's Indoor Adult National Championships in Denver, CO, where he was honored as part of the All-Tournament Team as an outside hitter. In 2021, Gary and his team were inducted into the NC Volleyball Hall of Fame-Court of Honor. Gary is a certified strength and conditioning specialist (NASM - National Academy of Sports Medicine) and is First Aid and CPR certified. Currently, he serves as a Commercial Sales Leader in the Medical Device industry. LinkedIn Gary is married to Sandy Merkel-DeJames. Together, they have a son, Nicholas, and share their home with 3 dogs, Indy, Laken and Annie.