Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Getting to know Taylor Holmes
5/22/2020 1:00:00 PM | General, Women's Volleyball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn.— Assistant Coach Taylor Holmes enters her seventh season with the Middle Tennessee volleyball program where she worked her way up from team manager to the position she has today.
Holmes began her journey with the Blue Raiders in 2014 as the team manager, which she continued to do all four years of her undergraduate degree. After graduating, she stayed on as a graduate assistant before receiving an offer to be an assistant coach.
Aside from the abundance of everyday responsibilities that comes with being an assistant coach, one of Holmes' main focuses is to coach the setters, as she is in charge of their practices and individual sessions. This past season alone she helped setter Taylor Hammill in several ways as she collected her 2,000th career assist, was named C-USA Setter of the Week and ranked as high as 17th in the nation for total assists. Holmes also assisted in coaching the team to a Conference USA Tournament appearance.
Check out this interview with Holmes:
What is your earliest memory of volleyball?
"My earliest memory of volleyball is going to my aunt's high school practice and running around while she coached. I called it 'bolleyball' until I was eight years old and no one could convince me that it was 'volleyball'."
Why did you decide to go to MTSU for your undergraduate degree and what was it like to be the manager of the volleyball team all four years of your undergrad?
"My family and I moved down to Tennessee when I was seven years old, and every summer after that I went to volleyball camp at MTSU because the coach was my mom's twin sister's college coach in Detroit, where my mom also played basketball. I would come up a few times to see matches and I loved the atmosphere of games and the high level the girls played at. My favorite match I have ever watched here was the 2010 game where MTSU defeated WKU to win the Sunbelt Championship. It was very unexpected, but during my junior year of high school, Matt called my mom and offered me the manager position. I had a few offers to go play softball at some smaller schools, but I could not pass up the opportunity to be a small part of a program I really looked up to. When I got to school the summer of my freshman year, I was 17 and I was so nervous and excited to be around these girls that I looked up to so much. They were awesome and they treated me like I was one of them. I met some of my best friends to this day. I learned so much about the game from Matt and I am so grateful he gave me my first opportunity to be here. I had never considered going into college coaching because I did not play in college, but when Chuck came he always took the time to make sure I understood different aspects of the game and what to look for. He really encouraged me to speak up and to be a part of the team."
You stayed on as a graduate assistant after receiving your undergrad and then moved up to an assistant coach. What was that process like?
"It was my junior year when some of my professors started talking to my classes about Graduate School. I talked to one of the assistant coaches at the time and asked her how she got her GA position and the other about her DOVO position, knowing that we did not have anything like that at MTSU around volleyball. I was still undecided about a master's degree when I took an internship with Farm Bureau. My bosses were amazing and really talked to me about being a woman in business and needing the extra degrees and qualifications to advance in the business world. When I came back from summer, Chuck pulled me aside and told me he had talked to Diane (Turnham), and would love for me to stay on as a graduate assistant. I was thrilled, and I am pretty sure I accepted the position on the spot. I learned so much that first year about the game and what it takes behind the scenes to develop a program.
When did you decide that coaching was what you wanted to do?
"Chuck helped me take over coaching the setters and running their individual practices. He really talked to me a lot about becoming an assistant coach one day, and this was the opportunity to try it out and see if this is where my passion lies. I had just gone home for the summer between my first and second year as a graduate assistant when Chuck called me to tell me that an assistant coaching position had opened up and he was going to ask if he could hire me. He really encouraged me to pray about it and talk with my family. I was confident that I could be successful and that Chuck and Jenna would help give me the tools that I needed to succeed."
What are your everyday tasks as an assistant coach?
"My everyday tasks change depending on the time of year. Right now, I am mostly working on setting up our summer volleyball camps, ordering gear for this season and arranging travel for this season. My favorite part is ordering the gear. Chuck is a big shoe person, so we design and customize every pair of shoes for the girls. The best part is on the first day of preseason we set up the girls' lockers with all the gear and wrap each locker like a present. When they come down and look in their lockers overflowing with gear it's like Christmas morning. During the season I arrange travel, create itineraries and just make sure everything runs smoothly. I run our setting practices and individuals, I also watch film with the setters to help them understand their opponents and how to run our offense more effectively."
When on recruiting trips, what do you look for most in athletes?
"When looking at athletes, we want gritty and tough players that have a passion for the game. We look for those who can compete and win at a high level, that have a drive to hang banners and change programs. The off-the-court attributes are just as important as the on-the-court ones. We hold academics very highly, and we want people around that have integrity and value friendship. The MTSU volleyball program is historic and we want to build on that history."
What are your hopes and expectations for this upcoming season?
"My expectation for this upcoming season is to build off of the momentum from the 2019 season. Throughout the past few seasons we have improved greatly every single year, jumping in the RPI rankings, as well as in the conference standings. When we won our last game and made it to conference, almost all of our incoming class was there and got to see how amazing that whole day was. My hope is they come in hungry for an even better finish, and the returners hold the high standard that our graduating seniors helped establish."
Holmes began her journey with the Blue Raiders in 2014 as the team manager, which she continued to do all four years of her undergraduate degree. After graduating, she stayed on as a graduate assistant before receiving an offer to be an assistant coach.
Aside from the abundance of everyday responsibilities that comes with being an assistant coach, one of Holmes' main focuses is to coach the setters, as she is in charge of their practices and individual sessions. This past season alone she helped setter Taylor Hammill in several ways as she collected her 2,000th career assist, was named C-USA Setter of the Week and ranked as high as 17th in the nation for total assists. Holmes also assisted in coaching the team to a Conference USA Tournament appearance.
Check out this interview with Holmes:
What is your earliest memory of volleyball?
"My earliest memory of volleyball is going to my aunt's high school practice and running around while she coached. I called it 'bolleyball' until I was eight years old and no one could convince me that it was 'volleyball'."
Why did you decide to go to MTSU for your undergraduate degree and what was it like to be the manager of the volleyball team all four years of your undergrad?
"My family and I moved down to Tennessee when I was seven years old, and every summer after that I went to volleyball camp at MTSU because the coach was my mom's twin sister's college coach in Detroit, where my mom also played basketball. I would come up a few times to see matches and I loved the atmosphere of games and the high level the girls played at. My favorite match I have ever watched here was the 2010 game where MTSU defeated WKU to win the Sunbelt Championship. It was very unexpected, but during my junior year of high school, Matt called my mom and offered me the manager position. I had a few offers to go play softball at some smaller schools, but I could not pass up the opportunity to be a small part of a program I really looked up to. When I got to school the summer of my freshman year, I was 17 and I was so nervous and excited to be around these girls that I looked up to so much. They were awesome and they treated me like I was one of them. I met some of my best friends to this day. I learned so much about the game from Matt and I am so grateful he gave me my first opportunity to be here. I had never considered going into college coaching because I did not play in college, but when Chuck came he always took the time to make sure I understood different aspects of the game and what to look for. He really encouraged me to speak up and to be a part of the team."
You stayed on as a graduate assistant after receiving your undergrad and then moved up to an assistant coach. What was that process like?
"It was my junior year when some of my professors started talking to my classes about Graduate School. I talked to one of the assistant coaches at the time and asked her how she got her GA position and the other about her DOVO position, knowing that we did not have anything like that at MTSU around volleyball. I was still undecided about a master's degree when I took an internship with Farm Bureau. My bosses were amazing and really talked to me about being a woman in business and needing the extra degrees and qualifications to advance in the business world. When I came back from summer, Chuck pulled me aside and told me he had talked to Diane (Turnham), and would love for me to stay on as a graduate assistant. I was thrilled, and I am pretty sure I accepted the position on the spot. I learned so much that first year about the game and what it takes behind the scenes to develop a program.
When did you decide that coaching was what you wanted to do?
"Chuck helped me take over coaching the setters and running their individual practices. He really talked to me a lot about becoming an assistant coach one day, and this was the opportunity to try it out and see if this is where my passion lies. I had just gone home for the summer between my first and second year as a graduate assistant when Chuck called me to tell me that an assistant coaching position had opened up and he was going to ask if he could hire me. He really encouraged me to pray about it and talk with my family. I was confident that I could be successful and that Chuck and Jenna would help give me the tools that I needed to succeed."
What are your everyday tasks as an assistant coach?
"My everyday tasks change depending on the time of year. Right now, I am mostly working on setting up our summer volleyball camps, ordering gear for this season and arranging travel for this season. My favorite part is ordering the gear. Chuck is a big shoe person, so we design and customize every pair of shoes for the girls. The best part is on the first day of preseason we set up the girls' lockers with all the gear and wrap each locker like a present. When they come down and look in their lockers overflowing with gear it's like Christmas morning. During the season I arrange travel, create itineraries and just make sure everything runs smoothly. I run our setting practices and individuals, I also watch film with the setters to help them understand their opponents and how to run our offense more effectively."
When on recruiting trips, what do you look for most in athletes?
"When looking at athletes, we want gritty and tough players that have a passion for the game. We look for those who can compete and win at a high level, that have a drive to hang banners and change programs. The off-the-court attributes are just as important as the on-the-court ones. We hold academics very highly, and we want people around that have integrity and value friendship. The MTSU volleyball program is historic and we want to build on that history."
What are your hopes and expectations for this upcoming season?
"My expectation for this upcoming season is to build off of the momentum from the 2019 season. Throughout the past few seasons we have improved greatly every single year, jumping in the RPI rankings, as well as in the conference standings. When we won our last game and made it to conference, almost all of our incoming class was there and got to see how amazing that whole day was. My hope is they come in hungry for an even better finish, and the returners hold the high standard that our graduating seniors helped establish."
Players Mentioned
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MTSU Volleyball Recap 9/27-28/25
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MTSU Volleyball Recap 9/5/25-9/7/25
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