Taylor made for a 7-senior season

In an unusual convergence of Taylorism, the Polson High School volleyball team just happens to have not one, not two, but a trio of Taylors on its squad: Taylor Brackey, Taylor Davis and Taylor Rost.  What makes Polson volleyball somewhat unique this season is that not only are there three Taylors on the varsity roster, their names are all spelled the same way and they are also all seniors.  

BRACKEY

The first Taylor is senior outside hitter Taylor “Bring It On” Brackey, who has accrued a diverse extra-curricular portfolio that includes four years of volleyball, will have another four seasons of softball by the time she graduates along with two years each of basketball and choir.  

An aspiring English teacher, Brackey earned all-conference 2nd-team accolades as an infielder in softball last spring.  Her most memorable volleyball game(s) were against the AA Kalispell Glacier team at the Missoula County Volleyball Invitational because the quality level of their playmaking forced the Lady Pirates to play hard in an attempt to keep pace.

“It doesn’t matter where you start off, its how hard you work so that you can finish strong,” she said.

After starting the season contributing an occasional spike, Brackey now creates mayhem with multiples that have reached double figures in one five-set game.

DAVIS

Taylor two is senior defensive specialist/libero Taylor “Digs It All” Davis.

A four-year letter-winner, she is one of the more prolific defensive diggin’ dynamos with more than 200 digs in 2013 and well past 100 this season.

Her other athletic credentials include 2006 10U ASA State Champion softball player and  2012 NWA all-conference short- and long-relay runner.

Her most memorable volleyball game(s) trace to beating Missoula Big Sky twice in the consolation bracket competition for 3rd place.  

Her advice to younger players is to, “make sure you play for one another as a team,” because those high school years go by fast.

ROST

The third Taylor is senior middle/outside hitter Taylor “Run This Court” Rost, a four-year volleyball participant whose involvements include BOG, LINK, NHS, FCA, Mission Valley Dance, Port Polson Theatre, church group and tennis.   

When Rost weighs in on which volleyball game(s) she would rate as her favorite, she considers beating the Frenchtown Lady Broncs in Frenchtown her senior year to be her highlight.   

A favorite inspirational quote is a variation of the theme, “The task ahead of you is never greater than the strength within you,”  Her advice to the next generation of players is: “Work hard and have fun.”  

Rost on the Taylor Gang:

“We’ve all been real close through the years and having seven seniors really helps.”

REMAINING SENIORS

The Lady Pirates have a quintet of players who are century club credential holders for defensive digs, meaning that four of their seven seniors have more than 100 digs this season.  Four of those happen to be seniors, three of which are not named Taylor.

CLAY

Senior defensive specialist Libby “Can Ya Dig It” Clay has played volleyball all four years and two years of tennis thus far.  This is the second season in which she tallied more than 150 digs and her per-game average puts her on pace to exceed over 200 digs by the end of the postseason.  Clay’s favorite volleyball games were the series the team played against the AA Kalispell Glacier Lady Wolfpack the past two seasons at the Missoula County Volleyball Invitational.  She mentioned that it was fun to play such a high caliber team because, “they challenged us more than usual.”

Clay’s advice to the next generation of aspiring defensive specialists is to not be intimidated of the floor.

KRANTZ

Senior defensive specialist Skyla “Come At Me” Krantz will have played four years of volleyball, basketball and softball when her senior year wraps up.  She earned all-conference honorable mention accolades last season in basketball and is a member of the National Honor Society and Board of Governors.  Skyla’s favorite quote also happens to be their team motto: “If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.”

RAUSCH

Senior defensive specialist Sarah “Savin’ It” Rausch will have participated in four years of volleyball as well as softball and two seasons of basketball.  She earned academic all-state last season in volleyball as well as three seasons of academic all-state in softball.  Rausch was awarded Most Improved Player for the volleyball team from last season.  Her sophomore year she was all-state choir and earned superiors in vocal solo both her sophomore and junior year.  She is a member of the National Honor Society, Board of Governors student body president, Fellowship of Christian Athletes huddle leader as well as student leader at her church.  Rausch had over 150 digs in 2013 and her per game averages will push the 200 threshold by the close of this season.  Sarah’s advice to the next generation: “It doesn’t matter how much talent you have.  It’s how hard you work.  So give 100 percent every practice and every game and you’ll get to where you want to be.”

TOTH

Senior all-state, twice all-conference (1st-tm 13, 2nd-tm 12) setter/defensive specialist Jaiden “Just Do It” Toth, ran the offense the past two seasons.  Her nickname stems in part from something that has been periodically heard around her household. But when it comes volleyball, the nickname associated with Toth morphs into the tenacious aptitude of a skillful player who just goes out and does whatever needs to be done and does it well.  Along with her reign as 2014 Homecoming Queen, Toth also accrued a softball all-conference 1st-team accolade as well as that of 14U ASA 2011 State Champion. Her prep career features 131 Aces, over 100 Kills, 905 Assists, 19BS, 2BA and 810 Digs, which do not take into account her contributions in tournament format games.

The quotable advice Toth would like to convey is, “Hard work conquers all.  You don’t have to start out being the best, but hard work will trump that in the end.”