Last year’s volleyball team seemingly had it all – they had Ashley Taylor up front, Morgan Dangelo as the libero, and Jordan Dixon, Erica Gumz and Destiny Tucker to add to the skilled line-up of seniors.

This all-star squad never made it passed the quarterfinal round of the River States Conference (RSC) Tournament.

So what were they missing?

Taylor Small.

This freshman has come in and rocked the court with her abilities, and if you attend any Point Park volleyball game this season, you will hear her name being called by the PA announcer almost every play.

Throughout her time at Marion L. Steele High School in Amherst, Ohio, Small tallied 301 kills, 66 blocks, 74 digs and 10 aces in 97 sets played.

So far at Point Park, she has 118 kills, six blocks, 33 digs and two aces in just 37 sets played.

We are not the only ones who have started to notice what a huge impact Small is making, as she received the attention of the conference when she was named RSC Volleyball Attacker of the Week for the week of Aug. 26-Sept. 1.

Basically what I am getting at is that if Small continues to progress at the rate she is right now, we might have just found our new Ashley Taylor.

So far, she has been so much fun to watch, and is very mature for a freshman on the court. Honestly, when I first watched her play, I thought she was a junior or senior transfer student – she has that much talent and poise about her.

It’s all going up for Small, in a big way.