Taylor Els - Women's Volleyball Coach - Montana State University Athletics

Photo by: Dean Hendrickson

Taylor Els

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
taylor.els@msubobcats.com
Phone:
406.994.4825

   Taylor Els is in her fourth season with the Bobcat volleyball program.

     Els was retained by head coach Matt Houk in 2023 from the previous staff.

     Last season, Els led Montana State to one of its finest defensive campaigns in school history.

   The Bobcats completed the 2023 campaign averaging 13.93 digs and 2.24 blocks per set. MSU also finished second in the Big Sky Conference allowing just 1.19 aces per contest.

   Individually, Els mentored Bobcat libero Lauren Lindseth. The sophomore from Great Falls finished the season averaging 3.77 digs per set, which ranked among the top 10 in the league.

   Middle blockers Jordan Radick and Camryn Greenwald finished fourth and eighth in the Big Sky, respectively, averaging 1.18 and 1.05 blocks per set.

   In Big Sky Conference play, MSU held its opponent to a .196 attack mark, while posting 14.13 digs and 2.34 blocks per contest.

   “Taylor is a very accomplished young coach, and the future is bright for her,” Houk said. “She adds value to the program in a variety of ways.

    “Her passion and grit stand out as soon as you meet her,” he added. “Her values are aligned with the program. Taylor is a great mentor to our athletes, and a great ambassador for the program.”

   Els, who served as a volunteer assistant at Michigan State prior to coming to Bozeman in June 2021, has played an integral role on the defensive side of the net making the Bobcats one of the most efficient units in the Big Sky Conference.

    During the 2021 season, MSU averaged 14.1 digs per set as libero Libby Christensen paced the Bobcats averaging 3.33 per set. In 2022, the Bobcats improved to 14.5 dps., with Lindseth averaging 3.89 per game. Lindseth was named to the All-Big Sky Conference Tournament team after averaging 3.56 digs in two matches, including 24 saves against Weber State as the Bobcat upset the Wildcats in the quarterfinals.

    No stranger to the Big Sky Conference, Els served as Northern Colorado’s primary libero from 2016-19 becoming the Bears’ NCAA Division I career digs record holder (1,818). Her 607 digs as a junior in 2018 are still a single season record at UNC. Els also ended her college career with the program’s career service aces mark (106). She was a team captain on the 2019 team that won the Big Sky Conference regular season and tournament championships en route to advancing to the NCAA tournament.

    Els was an Academic All-Big Sky selection all four years at UNC and was a two-time Academic All-District Team honoree.

    Els coached club volleyball and served as a student assistant at Northern Colorado prior to her stint at Michigan State. While in Lansing, she gained experience in a variety of areas. Els ran defense and serve receive drills for the Spartans while evaluating recruiting film and assisting in practice planning. She also completed director of operations duties during the 2021 spring season which included her being responsible for Data Volley and camp planning.