Harding\u2019s volleyball team has a unique roster this year. With six freshmen, zero sophomores, seven juniors and two seniors, leadership is necessary for success. Senior middle blocker Taylor Mounts is poised to lead her junior and freshman-dominated team to new heights this year.<\/p>\n
Mounts joined the Lady Bisons her freshman year with two other players, but both later transferred and left Mounts as the only senior to have spent her entire career at Harding. She wants to make her last year the best one yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur main goal this season is to be regular season conference champions and tournament champions,\u201d Mounts said. \u201cWe struggle a lot in the tournament so we want to really focus when we make the transition from regular season to the tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n
In order to make that dream a reality, the Lady Bisons will rely on Mounts\u2019 experience and leadership throughout the season. Head coach Meredith Fear said Mounts\u2019 is priceless.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer leadership on the court is like a calming experience,\u201d Fear said. \u201cWhen you have a team that is predominantly young, her experience and knowledge on the court is something you can\u2019t put a price on.\u201d<\/p>\n
With six new freshmen on the team, Fear said Mounts has done a great job of helping them through first-year pains.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether it\u2019s freshmen being homesick or not getting the playing time they want, Taylor can reach out to them because she\u2019s been in that position,\u201d Fear said. \u201cShe\u2019s very personable with them, and she\u2019s already incorporated them due to a big gap with zero sophomores on the roster.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Mounts is making an impact on her younger teammates, she said they have also changed her faith dramatically.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, religion wasn\u2019t a huge thing growing up,\u201d Mounts said. \u201cI feel like my faith has gotten stronger while being at Harding because I\u2019ve seen how big of an impact it\u2019s had on my teammates.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the season concludes, Mounts said, she\u2019s going to experience some tough goodbyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll miss my girls; they\u2019re like my family,\u201d Mounts said. \u201cI spend all day, every day with them and we sometimes even fight like family but we really do love each other.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fear said she will miss Mounts\u2019 personality and presence off the court as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll miss her humor. She always seems to put a smile on everyone\u2019s face,\u201d Fear said. \u201cShe can light up the room but at the same time be serious, loving and warming. She\u2019s a great player to have on the court and a well-rounded human.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mounts graduated college in three years and is currently working toward her Masters of Business Administration. After she completes graduate school, Mounts hopes to return home to California to begin law school and enter the business or civil law field.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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