Missouri volleyball coach hopes to serve up another impressive season
COLUMBIA, Mo. (BVM) — University of Missouri volleyball head coach, Joshua Taylor, heads into his third season at Mizzou with his head held high.
Hired initially as an interim coach, Taylor was named the official head coach of the volleyball team after signing a five-year contract in July 2019.
Since then, he has already contributed to Mizzou volleyball history. In his first year as head coach, Taylor led the volleyball team to a 22-8 season as well as an NCAA Tournament berth — the 16th in program history. The Tigers’ 2019 season brought about some impressive totals, as they ranked second in the nation for their .302 hitting percentage and fifth in the nation for their 14.67 kills per set.
Despite his impressive stats so far in Missouri, Taylor is new to the Midwest. Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, he moved to the continental United States when he was 18 to play volleyball at Pepperdine University. He graduated in 2015 with 1,433 kills under his belt, ranking him ninth in Pepperdine volleyball history.
Taylor joined the Mizzou volleyball staff just before the 2018-19 season as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. In this role, he helped guide the team to a 46-20 on-court record.
From his high school career all the way up to his coaching career, Taylor has specialized in blocking and serving, as well as receiving. He helped the Tigers reach all-time program single-season records in his first year in Missouri. The 2017 team had 377.5 total blocks and 547 block assists.
But in addition to his collegiate and coaching career, Taylor has accomplished other impressive volleyball achievements. He competed with the U.S. National Team at the Pan-Am Cup and as part of the Olympic Training Team in 2016.
However, that was not his first brush with representing the U.S. National Team. While attending Punahou High School in Honolulu, Taylor played for the U.S. Junior National Team, and helped them win first place at the 2010 NORECA Men’s Junior Continental Championship.
His clear passion for volleyball even led him to his lifelong partner.
Taylor married Molly Kreklow, a current member of the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team, in Feb. 2017. Taylor was introduced to his wife through a mutual volleyball coach and proposed after only 11 months of dating. Kreklow works at the University of Missouri as well, serving as the volunteer assistant coach for the Tigers’ volleyball team.
In terms of balancing his work and personal life, Taylor said him and his wife have found a middle ground between volleyball and being newlyweds.
“We do a good job of leaving work at work even though we both love volleyball,” Taylor told the Maneater. “Sometimes we just need a break, so we will spend time together doing an activity and not talk about volleyball.”
As for the upcoming volleyball season, Taylor seems to be preparing his team for another astounding record. Last year, the team made its fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament.
With a fully stacked team roster and the same coaching staff, the Tigers hope to start their season with the same energy they finished with last year. Missouri volleyball will have six of their games nationally televised this fall, starting with their season opener on Oct. 18 against the University of Alabama.
