Taylor Ready To Lead Lady Sharks
Kelsey Taylor had an impressive freshman year at Miami Dade College.
The 5-foot-6 setter recorded 525 assists—she averaged five per set—and added 236 digs in 34 games, playing a key role in the Lady Sharks run that came within one win of a National Championship.
Taylor’s role on this year’s team will be largely expanded after the graduation of team’s stalwarts Silvia Galeano, Erini Chatziefstratiadou and Merrisa Murphy.
The fiery sophomore has already been appointed team captain.
“I want to be more of a leader on the team,” Taylor said. “I want to be the type of [leader] where players feel comfortable coming to me and addressing issues.”
Taylor’s athletic journey can be traced back to her parents, Amy and David Taylor, who were both athletes and played a multitude of sports.
David Taylor played minor league baseball in the ‘80s. Amy Taylor played volleyball, basketball, softball, and was even a cheerleader in her youth.
After David’s career in the minor leagues, the couple moved to Dallas, Texas where Kelsey was born. The family would spend only one year living in Dallas before moving to Miami.
It didn’t take long for Taylor to grow an affinity for sports.
“The first time I touched a volleyball was the summer going into sixth grade, and I fell in love with it,” Taylor said.
She played a variety of sports during her middle school and high school years at Westminster Christian School, a K-12 school. However, volleyball was the sport that she enjoyed the most out of all of them. It was in middle school where Taylor realized she had a knack for the sport.
“I played on the middle school B team in sixth grade. In seventh grade, they wanted me on the junior varsity team and that’s when I started playing club volleyball and got serious about it and playing year-round,” Taylor said.
By the time she was a high school student at Westminster, her volleyball skills had elevated to a whole new level. During her time at Westminster, Kelsey received accolades such as 2011-12 All-Dade 2nd Team, 2012-13 All-Dade 1st Team, and the 2012 Warrior Award.
In her senior year, Taylor’s team won the Florida High School Athletic Association State Championship.
“I think my senior year was the most gratifying and challenging,” Taylor said. “I love winning every game but when you have big games like that, it feels so rewarding. You work all season long so you win those big games.”
Taylor chose MDC because of her familiarity with former Lady Sharks assistant coach James Exley, who had previously coached her on the Miami Elite, a travel team she played on while she was in high school.
She turned out to be a good fit.
“The expectations for Kelsey were pretty high, because she was a great player who came from a good school and had won the state tournament at the time,” said Lady Sharks Head Volleyball Coach Origenes “Kiko” Benoit. “I was following her for about a year and a half, and I already knew that she was going to do well for us.”
Now in her second year, Taylor is quickly growing in her role as team leader.
“She’s very approachable,” said freshman Gianna Dunand, a freshman on this year’s team. “You can go up to her and say anything. I’m new this year and she just introduced herself [to me]..she’ll go out of her way to make you feel comfortable.”
