Molly Taylor, A Tiger Through and Through
10/14/2019 3:00:00 PM | General
Molly Kreklow's Mizzou journey began early on with family ties to the Black & Gold. Reigning from Delano, Minnesota, Molly found her passion for volleyball and began attending camps across the country trying to find her best fit.
"What it came down to is I felt like Mizzou was going to be the place that really put me in a position to maximize my career. I felt like the coaching staff here was going to help me as a setter," said Kreklow. "I was looking long-term and short-term and I knew this was a place where I could really feel at home."
In 2010, Molly Kreklow committed to the University of Missouri volleyball team upon being recruited by her uncle and head volleyball coach, Wayne Kreklow.
"I started getting all this recognition, and they said: you know we didn't really want to recruit family, but it would be stupid of us not to. It's funny when I committed, I didn't even know if they'd officially offered me a scholarship, but I told them I'd like to play for them."
Molly quickly solidified herself as one of the team's top players and rose to a leadership role by her sophomore year. Becoming the first person to win a conference Player of the Year award for Mizzou Volleyball in 2013, Kreklow set herself apart historically.
"I think as my year advanced my role changed a lot. The volleyball stuff I always had down pretty well - I loved to work hard and I love to get extra reps and be the best that I could be, but to make sure the team was coming together and that was my responsibility; that was a big challenge."
Kreklow's drive and work ethic translated into recognition on and off the court. Going 35-0 and winning the SEC championship brought Kreklow's volleyball career into the spotlight.
"The team just kept growing, and doing really well, different players stepped up when we needed them or when other players were struggling and it was just such a team effort. All of a sudden, you're 9-0 and 10-0, then the season's almost over and we haven't lost like this is pretty great. We just took things day-by-day every time we stepped on the court, we took a lot of pride in playing our best."
Kreklow earned AVCA first-team All-American and SEC Player of the Year honors for her efforts.
Off the court, Kreklow earned a Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Sciences in Dec. 2013 with Dean's list recognition in each semester at the university.
Kreklow has since married and traded in her uniform for a coach's whistle. Now Coach Molly Taylor is the Tigers' Assistant Head Coach.
"I feel very fortunate to even still be here," she said. "I believe Mizzou is a really special place in general but I think for me of course it's been home for a long time and it still is."
Molly and Joshua Taylor, Mizzou's interim head volleyball coach, began their coaching careers and newlywed lives back in Columbia.
"Sitting on the bench especially for the first home matches it was hard not to be slightly emotional and there's just a lot of different feelings and I think as it goes I don't know at what point is it going to feel more real, but for now it's been unreal"
Taylor's dedication and leadership has served Mizzou well over the years. In recognition of all she has done Taylor will be inducted into the Mizzou Athletics Hall of Fame next month.
"It was surreal as I was not expecting it and don't know who nominated me or how I got this honor," she said. "I'm just really grateful that they considered me a Hall of Famer."
Taylor has played both collegiate and professional volleyball (2010-2017), competing with the U.S. National Team at the FIVB World Cup and Grand Prixs. She won a pair of bronze medals at the 2014-15 World Cups and a championship at the 2015 FIVB World Grand Prix, earning "Best Setter' award. She just missed earning a spot on the 2016 Olympic team as well, but met he husband – now Mizzou's interim head coach – while training with the national team.
All of her opportunities started at Mizzou – and for that she is grateful.
"I talk about all the time we're so grateful to be in this situation with this experience and I think as we continue, there are times where I'm like: oh, what would Wayne do here, what would Susan do here," Taylor said of her former head coaches she both played and later worked for. "There are all of those moments where I'm asking myself, okay what was the best move here and they always come to mind because I think they did a lot of things really well obviously to take the program to where it is now."
***
Taylor is part of the 2019 Mizzou Athletics Hall of Fame class. She is one of six outstanding former University of Missouri athletic figures who have been selected for induction into Mizzou's Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame. They will represent the 29th induction class since the Hall's inception in 1990.
The class will be formally inducted Fri., Nov. 15, in a ceremony and celebration to be held that evening in Columbia. The group will also be recognized at the Mizzou Football home game the next day against Florida.
Tickets for the reception can be purchased through http://www.tsfmizzou.com/halloffame. If fans have questions, please mail (flakerl@missouri.edu) or call the Tiger Scholarship Fund office at (573) 882-0704.
