Alyssa Maiers ’16Alumni, Faculty, and Staff

Alyssa Taylor joined the Gustavus volleyball coaching staff as the lead assistant in 2018, when Taylor helped the Gusties capture another MIAC regular season championship (going undefeated in conference play), the MIAC playoff championship, and the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in the previous five years (Taylor was a senior when the team captured the first championship in 2015). In 2019, she assisted the team to earn another trip to the MIAC playoffs, making it their sixth consecutive playoff run, which ties them with one other league school for the most consecutive playoff tournament appearances in the MIAC. In 2021, she helped the Gusties earn MIAC regular season and playoff championships and secure another trip to the NCAA Tournament where the team finished Top 32 in the country. Last season, in 2022, Taylor helped the Gusties to an undefeated conference season (11-0), MIAC regular season and playoff championships, and another NCAA Tournament appearance, with the team finishing No. 16 in the nation. Taylor, a 2015 Gustavus graduate with a degree in health fitness, returned to her alma mater after spending the previous two years at the University of South Carolina.

Taylor started at South Carolina in January 2016 as a volleyball graduate assistant and director of beach volleyball operations. In those roles she assisted the director of operations by running home tournaments and all aspects of team travel. In June of 2017 Taylor was promoted to the director of volleyball operations where she was the supervisor to the graduate assistant and manager for the volleyball program. She balanced a full-time job with graduate school and was also a camp director during the summer.

Taylor was a three-year starter for the Gustavus volleyball team from 2013-15 where she had a decorated career. The Trimont, Minn. native earned Third Team All-America and MIAC Player of the Year her senior season. As a team captain in 2015, Taylor played an important role in the Gusties claiming a program record 27 consecutive wins, their first MIAC title since 1986 and first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2008. Taylor led the team with 312 kills (3.09 per set), a .341 attack percentage and a 1.14 blocks per set average (115 total). Her .341 attack rate in 2015 was the third best in program history. The Martin County West product finished her three-year career wearing the Black and Gold with 946 kills, which ranks 15th in program history. She also recorded 326 career blocks, ranking 10th in program history, and was a three-time All-Conference performer.

Courses Taught