Shawn Taylor selected to lead Kansas Wesleyan Volleyball
By: David Toelle, KWU Sports Information

Shawn Taylor is KWU's new Volleyball coach Photo Courtesy: Kansas State Sports Information

Shawn Taylor has been selected as the next coach of Kansas Wesleyan Volleyball. Taylor succeeds Coach Gordon Reimer who stepped down as coach in January to concentrate solely on women’s basketball.

“I am excited to be at Kansas Wesleyan,” Taylor said. “We return a great group of players who have all experienced success, which is definitely beneficial.”

“With all the returning talent, I hope to pick up where Coach Reimer left off. He built a great program, and I hope to continue that trend,” he said. “We have a great opportunity to be immediately successful.”

The Lady Coyotes finished the 2006 season with a 20-12 overall record, including a 14-4 record in KCAC, tying them for second place with Bethel. The Lady Coyotes also finished the regular season with a 12-match winning streak that continued into the KCAC Tournament semifinals before losing to Bethel.

Taylor comes to Kansas Wesleyan from Kansas State University in Manhattan where he served as a volunteer assistant coach for the Lady ‘Cats. At KSU, he was primarily responsible for working with middle hitters and blockers, and the development of the freshman players.

“Shawn is an extremely good fit for us at Kansas Wesleyan,” KWU Director of Athletic Programs Matthew Williams said. “He will come in and do a great job with our volleyball program. He has the ability to keep the Lady Coyotes at the top of the KCAC, as they have been the last two seasons.”

Before Kansas State, Taylor was the Head Women’s JV Coach and Men’s Assistant Coach at Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa. There he was responsible for the daily operations of the women’s JV program and working with the men’s program.

Taylor played collegiate volleyball at Graceland, where he completed his degree in Liberal Studies with emphasis in Mathematics in 2004.

Taylor attributes the fit of Salina as one of the key factors to him taking the job at Wesleyan.

“Everything about the area attracted me to KWU,” Taylor said. “Salina is just the right size, not too big and not too small.”

He also said that where the University is headed, and the construction of the new Student Activities Center were also big factors in his decision.

“I like the direction the University is going, especially with the new facilities. The new Student Activities Center will definitely be a recruiting advantage for us,” he said.

Taylor was the Training Coach for the USA A2 National Team in New Orleans this past summer, and was assistant coach for the Topeka Juniors 171 team for three years. His teams won the HOA Regional Tournaments in 2005 and 2006, placed ninth at Junior Nationals in 2005, and qualified Open in 2006.

He also has extensive work with several summer camps.

Taylor begins his duties at Kansas Wesleyan immediately.

Contact information for Shawn Taylor:
E-Mail: shawn.taylor@kwu.edu

-- KWU SI --