Head Volleyball Coach Taylor Menzies-
Mission University is blessed to have second-year Head Coach Taylor Menzies, for the 2024-25 season. Coach Menzies, may seem familiar to those who follow volleyball in the Ozarks. She graduated high school from nearby Clever High School in 2017 where she was a multi-sport athlete. She was recruited to play volleyball by Southeastern Community College in West Burlington, Iowa, where she received her Associates of Arts Degree in 2019. Wishing to continue her playing career and education, she transferred to Keiser University, located in West Palm Beach, Florida. Besides having a stellar career her last two years of college eligibility, she began studying the game and how to make players better understand their role within the team concept. She received her Bachelors of Science Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in Sports Management and Psychology in 2021. She earned Magna Cum Laude for her academic efforts. She is currently attending Missouri State University here in Springfield, Missouri, working toward earning a Master’s Degree in Sports Management.
Upon graduation, Coach Menzies began pursuing a coaching career. She returned to her collegiate roots by becoming an Assistant Coach in 2022 at Southeastern Community College. She also added a coaching career in the private sector as she became Head Coach for the Spirit Club 17 Navy. Between the two seasons, and any extra time she has, Coach Menzies has been giving private lessons since 2019 to further pursue her passion of the game.
Coach Menzies’ college career has several highlights. While at SCC, she became the school’s All-Time Blocks leader and current holder of that record. She finished in the Top 5 of a handful of different categories, ranging from all-time, single season, and single match records. She received All-Region, All-Tournament Team, and All-Conference honors in both 2017 and 2018. At Keiser University, she helped her team win back-to-back Sun Conference titles her junior and senior years, which the college had never achieved before. During her senior year, the team would be ranked nationally as high as 11th and qualified for the National Tournament for the first time in program history with a record of 36-0 going into the tournament.
Last season, with a predominately freshman line-up, Coach Menzies and the squad finished the season with an appearance in the NCCAA Regional Tournamentr in Oklahoma City and they won the most matches, 10 on the season, since the sport was revived after about a ten year layoff.
When she’s not playing or coaching the sport she loves, Coach Menzies enjoys working out, listening to music, and casually being with friends and family. When asked if she had a favorite Bible verse that she relies on in her life, she replied, “Psalm 16:8, I know the Lord is always with me, I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.”
