Thursday, March 27, 2008

Valparaiso volleyball head coach Carin Avery announced today that Shawn Taylor has been hired as an assistant coach for the Crusader program.

“We are extremely lucky to have a coach of Shawn’s caliber join our staff here at Valpo,” said Avery.  “He has a tireless work ethic and loves being around the game of volleyball.”

Taylor arrives at Valpo after spending one year as head coach at Kansas Wesleyan University.  He guided the Coyotes to a 27-8 record during the 2007 campaign, including Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships.  Five of his players earned All-Conference recognition, while three were named to the All-Region squad and one was named an All-American, the first in school history.  Taylor also was named the KCAC Coach of the Year.

Prior to Kansas Wesleyan, Taylor spent two years as a volunteer assistant coach at Kansas State, where he worked primarily with the middle hitters.  He also spent two years as the women’s head junior varsity coach and as a men’s assistant coach at Graceland University.

Outside of the collegiate realm, Taylor served as an apprentice coach with the U.S. National Team in Colorado Springs, Colo. in the spring of 2007.  He also has experience as a training coach for the USA A2 National Team, as well as spending two years as an assistant coach for the Topeka Juniors 171 squad.

“Shawn brings to us a wealth of knowledge from his previous coaching stints,” said Avery.  “His background at a top-20 program in Kansas State will be a great asset, and he showed his ability to lead a team with his successful year last season at Kansas Wesleyan.  In addition, his time spent working with some of the nation’s elite players on the U.S. National Team will benefit our program as we take aim at the Horizon League Championship.”

Taylor earned his bachelor’s degree in liberal studies with an emphasis on mathematics from Graceland University in 2004, where he also played for four seasons.  He went on to earn his master’s degree from Kansas State University in 2006.