Outlook

Taylor McCarthy returns to the area after attending Regis University last year … Is a six-rotation player who is skilled with her shots, aggressive on swings and good ball control ... High volleyball IQ and very competitive ... Loves the game and continually looks to improve and help her teammates ... Looking to become a big contributor to the team's success this fall ... Signed a National Letter of Intent to play at at Texas A&M Kingsville next year.

Sophomore Year 2022

Named first-team All-American by Volleyballmag.com, becoming just the third player to ever be selected … Also earned first-team All-Kansas Jayhawk D-II Conference and second-team All-Region 6/Plains District A honors … Played in 31 matches and 98 sets … Reached double figures in kills in 17 matches and in digs in 13 matches in the 27 matches she played before suffering a foot injury that has kept her out of the lineup since early October … Even with her missing playing time, McCarthy ranked second on the team and 11^th in the conference with 312 kills … Her kills-per-set average of 3.18 ranked eighth in the conference and her .293 kill percentage ranked sixth … In the fourth week this season, was selected as the KJCCC D-II Offensive Player of the Week after finishing with 55 total kills, topping double digits in all five matches while posting a .320 kill percentage … Opened the week with 13 kills and 10 digs in a 3-0 win at Independence (9-7-22), followed by 10 kills in a 3-1 win against Lincoln Land (9-9-22), 10 kills and 12 digs in a 3-0 win over Illinois Central (9-9-22), 12 kills and 11 digs in a 3-0 win at No. 3-ranked Kirkwood (9-10-22) and 10 kills and 11 digs in a 3-0 sweep over No. 6 Heartland (9-10-22) … Recorded a double-double of 10 kills and a season-high 15 digs in a sweep over Central Methodist (9-14-22) followed by a double-double of 10 and 10 in a sweep over Metropolitan (9-16-22) … Matched her season-high of 15 digs along with 10 kills in a 3-0 win over St. Louis (9-17-22) … Tallied 15 kills, a kill percentage of .462 and 14 digs in a 3-0 win at Coffeyville (9-21-22) ... Followed with double-doubles of 12 kills and 13 digs in wins over North Platte (9-24-22) and Ottawa JV (9-24-22) … Recorded a career-high 18 kills in a 3-2 and hit .302 in a 3-2 win at No. 2-ranked Cowley (9-30-22) … Followed with 17 kills in a loss to Panola (10-7-22) … Was back on the court when the Cavaliers opened play at the NJCAA D-II National Tournament, and she played a big role … Was in double figures in kills in three of the four matches, tallying 43 total kills for the tournament … Opened the tournament with 10 kills and an attack percentage of .667 in a sweep over Montgomery (11-17-22) … Followed with 13 kills in a sweep over Grand Rapids (11-17-22) … Tallied 13 kills in the national semifinals against Richard Bland (11-18-22).

Freshman 2021

Played for coach Joel List at Regis University, Denver, Colo. … Helped the Rangers to a 20-8 mark and a 15-3 record in conference play … Played in 13 matches and 22 sets … Tallied 20 kills, a hitting percentage of .179 and 20 digs … Played in two sets and had three digs in her collegiate debut against California State, San Bernardino (9-2-21) … Had a season high five digs against Lewis (9-11-21) … Had five kills and an attack percentage of .455 against Fort Lewis (9-25-21) … Followed with six kills against Black Hills State (10-1-10) … Matched her season high of six kills and had four digs against South Dakota Mines (10-2-21).

High School

Was a four-year starter for coach Susan Specht at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, Shawnee, Kan. … Graduated in 2021 …. Was the No. 13th ranked hitter in the state of Kansas according to Maxpreps.com in 2020 ... Member of the Kansas Volleyball Association 6A All-State second-team as a senior … Also earned first-team All-Sunflower League as a junior and senior … Finished her senior season with 256 kills, a hitting percentage of .305, 213 digs and 35 aces … Recorded a career high 287 kills along with 169 digs and a hitting percentage of 248 as a junior … Finished her career with 800 kills, 539 digs, 165 blocks and 67 aces … Ranked fifth in the Sunflower League in kills in 2020 and sixth in hitting percentage in 2019 … Helped the Cougars win Substate titles her junior and senior years … Played club for Adidas Team Dynasty coached by Cassie Rockers and Pohaku Volleyball Club coached by Conan Salanoa … Helped Pohaku place first at Triple Crown and second at GJNC Nationals in 2021.

Personal

Born Taylor Nichole McCarthy on November 15, 2002, in Manhattan, Kan. … Nickname is Tay Tay … Daughter of Justin McCarthy … Has two sisters, Chassady and Devlynn and a brother, Brace … Majoring in sports management … Also recruited by the University of West Florida, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Eastern Kentucky University and Florida A&M University … Favorite foods are chicken fried rice and chicken parmesan … Favorite faast food restaurant is Chick-fil-A … Favorite restaurant is Chipotle … Favorite TV show is Grey’s Anatomy … Favorite movie is Findy Dory … Favorite sports movie is The Blind Side … Favorite actor and actress are Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore … Enjoys reading romance novels … Favorite music entertainers are Florida Georgia Line, Morgan Wallen and Juice World … Favorite cartoon character is Dory … Favorite athletes are Kerri Walsh and Alex Morgan … Favorite sports team is the Kansas City Chiefs … Her greatest sports moment was winning Triple Crown and competing at the Beach Volleyball Nationals in California … Best player she has played against is Madison Lilley, a Blue Valley West graduate and former a four-time All-America setter at the University of Kentucky … Former alumni from her school are former NFL players Ryan Lilja, Mike Rivera and Ryan Torain, and 2015 Miss Kansas USA Alexis Railsback.