University of Georgia Athletics
Catching Up With Maria Taylor
September 15, 2006 | Volleyball
Maria Taylor, an outside hitter for the Bulldogs, is entering her sophomore campaign and is looking to improve on a freshman year where she earned All-SEC Freshman honors for Steffi Legall's squad. The two-sport star in
volleyball and basketball at Centennial High School wasted no time making her presence felt in her first season. In 2005, she was third on the team behind All-American Alexandra Oquendo and 2002 SEC Freshman of the Year Julie Petruschke with 3.25 kills per game and 338 total kills.
So far during the 2006 season, Taylor is leading Georgia with 144 kills and was recently voted to the Pioneer Classic All-Tournament Team after her performance over three matches in Denver, Colo. Recently, Taylor sat down for a quick look inside the Bulldog volleyball team.
On the impact of the new faces on the coaching staff:
"Assistant coach Sam (Ojie) is very insightful and brings with him a lot of experience. He has so much volleyball knowledge having played and coached all over the world. April (Yantis) came to us from Virginia Tech and she keeps us sane."
On her transition from a freshman to a sophomore and advice she would give to the five freshmen and two transfers on this year's team:
"Most of freshman year is about adjusting to college and to the demands of athletics. Everything isn't going to come together at once, but I tell them to be patient and improvement will come with time. I learned that you must give yourself time to learn."
On the potential of the freshman and their impact:
"They each possess great skill-based athleticism and came into the program knowing a lot about the game. Nikki (Hawkins) and Katie (Winschel) have been able to contribute immediately and all of the freshman will only get better with time."
