COLUMBIA, Mo. – Former U.S. National Team member and Pepperdine Men's Volleyball two-time AVCA All-American, Joshua Taylor, has been named the new assistant coach for Mizzou Volleyball, announced Monday by head coach Wayne Kreklow. Taylor replaces former Tiger assistant coach Deng Yang, who recently accepted the head coach position at Stetson University.

"I'm absolutely thrilled to be able to add Joshua to our Mizzou coaching staff," Kreklow said. "We were lucky enough to have him in our gym this fall and I was immediately impressed with his technical expertise, knowledge of the game and most importantly, his moral character. Joshua's coaching style perfectly fits with our 'demanding, not demeaning' philosophy and our players loved having him in the gym."

"He's a natural teacher and great communicator. Joshua has been fortunate to have been trained and mentored by some of the best volleyball coaches in the business, including Pepperdine Men's Volleyball head coach Marv Dunphy – four-time Men's National Champion and 1988 Olympic Gold Medal coach – and David Hunt – U.S. Women's National Team assistant coach and Boys Junior National Team coach. Joshua has a great future in front of him and we're excited to have him on board here at Mizzou!"

"I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity to be a part of a classy and successful program that does things right," Taylor said. "I'm looking forward to building upon an already powerful collegiate program and doing what's necessary to help the team reach peak performance."

For the past eight years, Taylor has excelled in the collegiate and professional volleyball ranks. In 2016, the Honolulu, Hawaii, native competed with the U.S. National Team at the Pan AM Cup and Olympic training team.

Prior to his outstanding collegiate career at Pepperdine University, Taylor began his playing experience with the U.S. Junior National Team. He played a pivotal role in to Team USA's triumph at the 2010 NORCECA Men's Junior Continental Championship, resulting in a qualifying bid for the 2011 FIVB Men's Junior World Championships.

This past year, Taylor played professionally overseas with Leka Volley in Finland and Al Sadd Sports Club in Qatar. During the Spring 2016 season, Leka Volley finished third overall, while Taylor received four individual match MVP honors.

Collegiately, Taylor was a standout performer at Pepperdine from 2012-15, earning two AVCA All-American honors and three All-MPSF accolades. During his 2014 junior campaign, Taylor became only the 18th player in program history to surpass 1,000 career kills. He concluded his four-year career in Malibu, Calif., with 1,433 career kills and 1,630 career points.

"I've never coached a finer person than Josh Taylor," Pepperdine Men's Volleyball head coach Marv Dunphy said. "In sports, teammates matter and his teammates loved him. From day one, he saw the game well, he thought it well and he played it well. Now, I fully expect him to coach the game well. He is bright, has a great teaching manner and basically he 'gets it' and people get him. As a coach, he's going to make a wonderful contribution to our sport. I'm extremely proud of Josh and Mizzou got a good one!"

While starring at Punahou High School in Hawaii, Taylor first represented Team USA in 2009 with the U.S. Boys' Youth National Team. Additionally, he reached the FIVB Men's Youth World Championships later that year.

Before pursuing professional volleyball opportunities overseas in early Fall 2016, Taylor served as a graduate assistant for the Mizzou Volleyball program. He also assisted the Tigers as a lead instructor during 2016 individual and positional summer camps.

Taylor received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Pepperdine University in 2015 and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Sport Psychology through John F. Kennedy University.

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