Taylor Underwood Season 2024

HONORS
2023 All-Mountain West Selection
2023 Mountain West All-Academic Selection
2023 CSC Academic All-District Team
2022 Big East All-Freshman Team (DePaul)
Big East Freshman of the Week (Sept. 12, 2022 - DePaul)

2023 SEASON (As A Sophomore): Made a huge splash in her first season on The Mesa, earning first-team all-Mountain West honors… Was the lone Aztec to start all 29 matches, averaging a team-best 3.12 kills per set while launching 334 kills overall… Ranked fifth in the conference with 0.35 service aces per set and 37 for the season… Also occupied the third spot on the squad with 38 blocks (0.36/set) and contributed 56 digs (0.52/set)… Eclipsed the double-digit kill barrier in 20 matches, including 16 of her final 17 starts… Hit over .300 on nine occasions… Blasted a career-high 31 kills vs. Air Force, which marked the third-best total in the Mountain West during the 2023 campaign (10-5-23)… Also posted a season-high .481 clip against the Falcons, with her kill total representing a school record in the rally scoring era (since 2001)… Additionally, her 31 put-aways in that match was the most by an SDSU player since Martina Vitkova-Engels (37) and Carrie Mapes (33) combined for 70 non-returnables in the Aztecs' five-set triumph over Wyoming in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament during the sideout era on Nov. 25, 1997… Made her Scarlet and Black debut in a 3-1 season-opening triumph over Cal State Fullerton at the Hotel Vance Rose City Showdown in Portland, Oregon, blasting 14 kills on 25 attempts with just five errors for a .360 efficiency (8-25-23)… Served up a career-high five aces in a pair of victories over Denver (9-8-23) and Eastern Washington (9-16-23), which was tied for the sixth-best output in the conference last season… Finished sixth in the Mountain West with 3.38 kills and 3.88 points per set against conference foes during the regular season… Racked up 15 kills on a .338 clip at Wyoming, adding two blocks and a pair of aces to help the Aztecs defeat the Cowgirls on the road for the second year in a row (9-30-23)… Compiled 21 kills on a .318 efficiency in a tough five-set loss at eventual MW tournament champion Fresno State, where she tied her career high with four blocks, including two solo stops (10-12-23)… Paced the Scarlet and Black with 13 kills (.370) and tied for the team lead with three blocks, including a solo stuff in SDSU’s four-set home victory over Boise State (10-19-23)… Set a season high with seven digs at New Mexico while contributing 11 kills and two block assists (10-26-23)… Knocked down 11 kills (.310) and served up three aces in a rematch with Fresno State at home (11-4-23)… Tied for match-honors with 14 kills and notched three additional aces in the season finale vs. UNLV (11-18-23)… Earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors… Also received Mountain West all-academic distinction.

2022 SEASON (As a Freshman at DePaul): Played in 107 sets across 26 matches during her lone season with the Blue Demons … Earned a spot on the Big East all-freshman team after ranking third on the team with 264 kills (2.47/set) while occupying the sixth spot with 36 blocks (0.34/set) … Also contributed 78 digs (0.73/set) and nine services aces (0.08/set) … Surpassed the double-digit kill plateau on 13 occasions, launching a career-high 18 put-aways (.351) at Seton Hall (10-7-22) … Garnered Big East Freshman of the Week accolades after posting double-digit kills (3.33/set) in a trio of four-set victories at the DePaul Invitational where she also hit a collective .326 and totaled six block assists, leading the Blue Demons to the tournament crown … Opened the event with 16 kills (.353) and three block assists vs. Virginia Tech (9-9-22) … Hit .387 with 14 kills on 31 attempts with just two errors against Eastern Michigan, adding two blocks, including a solo stop (9-10-22) … Came back with 10 kills and a season-high four block assists in the weekend finale vs. Saint Louis (9-10-22), securing a place on the DePaul Invite’s all-tournament team … Recorded a season-best .526 hitting percentage, blasting 10 kills on 19 swings without an error, helping DePaul to a 3-1 victory over Loyola Chicago (9-17-22) … Compiled her second-highest kill total of the year with 17 put-aways vs. Butler (9-23-22) … Knocked down 15 kills on 28 attempts with just two errors for a .464 efficiency in a 3-1 triumph over Providence (9-30-22) … Notched 15 kills and seven digs at St. Johns (10-8-22) … Served up a season-best two aces and contributed five kills at Creighton (10-16-22) … Racked up five kills, two block assists and a season-high 11 digs vs. Marquette (10-26-22).  

HIGH SCHOOL: Graduated in 2022 from Norco (Calif.) High School where she averaged 3.0 kills per set and hit .357 with 47 blocks in two full varsity seasons, according to MaxPreps … Twice landed on PrepVolleyball’s Top 50 Watch List for the class of 2022 … Also appeared on the 2020 AVCA Phenom List as well as the 2021 Junior Volleyball Association (JVA) Ultra Ankle Watch List … Averaged 3.4 kills per set (233 overall) and posted a .423 hitting percentage to go with 41 service aces during her senior campaign in 2021 to earn first-team all-conference honors … Set a school record with 30 kills in Norco High’s 3-2 victory over Riverside King (10-11-21) … Also received all-tournament distinction at the Tesoro Championships and Mountain View Invitational that season … Was named the Cougars’ offensive MVP as a sophomore in 2019 after contributing to a Norco High squad that captured Big VIII Conference and CIF Southern Section Division IV championships, helping the team qualify for the CIF state tournament … Garnered her school’s Academic Excellence Award for Honors with Distinction on three occasions … Was also named to the President’s Honor Roll and was a recipient of the National Junior Honor Society Scholarship Award.

PERSONAL: Born in Newport Beach, California … Parents are Mark and Malissa Underwood … Hails from an athletic family … Her father played college basketball at Cal State Fullerton, while her mother competed in soccer at Chapman University … Lists Kathryn Plummer and Kendall Kip as her favorite volleyball athletes … Enjoys reading … Majoring in psychology at SDSU with career plans to become a behavioral analyst.