By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – One year after bursting onto the scene by earning All-Ohio Valley Conference Second Team honors, Tennessee Tech middle blocker Taylor Dorsey continued her development into one of the best players in the league this season. The head coaches and sports information directors around the conference took notice, as Dorsey claimed her first career All-OVC First Team appearance as released by the league office Wednesday morning.
The Birmingham, Ala. native was special for the purple and gold in its COVID-19 altered and shortened 2020-21 campaign, leading the Golden Eagles in hitting percentage and total blocks while ranking in the top-three on the team in kills and points. Dorsey's honor made it back-to-back years with a Tech player named to the First Team by the OVC, with senior teammate Ali Verzani being recognized last season. The last time the purple and gold saw back-to-back All-OVC First Team honors for the program was in 2014 and 2015 by Cookeville native Cody Dodd.
Dorsey proved to be arguably the most lethal middle in the league, pacing the conference with 70.0 total blocks and ranking second in blocks per set with a mark of 1.17. She also registered 141 kills and 181.5 points on the year, extending her value far beyond just the defensive side of the net. Her .306 hitting percentage ranked seventh in the league.
"Taylor is such a big piece of what we do," Tech head coach Jeannette Waldo expressed. "She comes in wanting to grind it out every day, even after she's had a great weekend of play. She constantly pushes herself to do great things and because of that, she causes havoc for our opponents. With the type of competitor she becomes on the court, you would think that she is this hardened person, but she is such a gentle giant. Taylor has such a sweet demeanor about her, and I hate that these masks hid her glowing smile all season. I am so glad that she has been recognized by our conference in this way. It is beyond well-deserved."
During her junior campaign, Dorsey recorded her second and third career double-doubles, accounting for 13 kills and 10 total blocks for 19.5 points on a .346 hitting percentage against Eastern Kentucky and 14 kills, 10 total blocks, 19.0 points and a .414 attack percentage at Murray State. She posted double-digit kills eight times on the year, including five of the last six matches, with the one outlier a nine-kill performance.
The 6-foot-2 wall for the Golden Eagles rejected at least five attacks from her opponents eight times throughout the year, including each of the final four contests. In 11 matches, she totaled double-figure points, including a run of the final six tilts of the season. Five times on the year she hit over .400 in a match, with her best showing a mark of .571 on 14 kills against Eastern Illinois in the team's first win of the year.
Photos by Jim Dillon