Taylor Mott, who led Austin Peay's volleyball team to its second-ever NCAA tournament appearance in 2017, begins her 10th season as Austin Peay’s head volleyball coach.
In addition to her work with the Govs, Mott was named to the NCAA Women's Beach Volleyball Committee in March 2021; she also serves as a member of the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball South Region Advisory Committee.
In 2021, Mott and the beach volleyball program won the first Ohio Valley Conference Beach Volleyball Championship in league history, with Marlayna Bullington earning OVC Freshman of the Year honors and the Jenna Panning-Brooke Moore pairing earning Tournament MVP pairing honors as the Govs rallied back from a 1-6 start to claim the crown.
Earlier in 2021 during indoor season, Mott picked up her 150th win as head coach of the Governors and 450th career win at the collegiate level. Chloe Stitt earned her first career All-OVC nod during her final campaign as a Gov. All told, 15 Austin Peay student-athletes under Mott have earned All-OVC accolades, with Kristen Stucker earning three Setter of the Year honors and Ginny Gerig Busse (2019) and Ashley Slay (2017) earning Defensive and Offensive Player of the Year honors, respectively.
In 2018, Mott followed up the magical 2017 season with another regular season title and a 27-5 record; it marked the first time in Austin Peay history the Govs won back-to-back OVC regular-season titles.
After coaching the Governors to one of the nation's most improved records in 2016, Mott saw her 2017 club put together a season for the record books. Austin Peay pushed to a program-record 30 wins during the season, becoming the first Ohio Valley Conference team to record 30 wins since 1995. Those 30 wins included a win against nationally-ranked Missouri in the season's opening week and an incredible come-from-behind, five-set win against Murray State to clinch the program's third OVC tournament title and second NCAA tournament appearance.
Mott, who saw a program-record four players receive All-OVC recognition in 2017, became just the second Austin Peay coach to earn OVC Coach of the Year honors, and joined Ashley Slay (Player of the Year) and Kristen Stucker (Setter of the Year) as recipients of the league's major awards. In addition, Brooke Moore became the first freshman to be named to OVC tournament's Most Valuable Player.
Mott’s fifth season with the Governors saw the team make a giant leap forward, posting a 24-11 record. The 13½-game improvement from 2015 was fifth-best surge among all Division I teams. It also was the Govs 11th 20-win season in program history and its 10th 10-win OVC campaign.
Setter Kristen Stucker led the 2017 team and earned OVC Setter of the Year honors, becoming the first Govs player to earn the award, and also was an OVC all-tournament selection after APSU reached the tournament semifinals. Middle blocker Ashley Slay joined Stucker of the All-OVC team that season, becoming the first Govs duo to earn all-conference honors in the same year since 2011.
In her first season at Austin Peay, Mott led the Governors to a four-game improvement over the previous season. After opening the campaign with a 2-8 record, the Governors won 17 of their final 24 during the regular season. That included a 10-6 mark in OVC play, good for second place in the West Division, and a stretch of seven consecutive home wins. A balanced offensive attack saw two players record 400 kills in the same season (Nikki Doyle and Jada Stotts with 429 and 419 kills, respectively) for the first time since the 1999 campaign.
Injuries dominated Mott’s second season at Austin Peay as three players who were in the starting rotation on Day 1 – outside hitter Jada Stotts, setter Cami Fields and outside hitter Calyn Hull –missed significant time due to injuries. Those injuries led to another slow start in nonconference action (a 4-15 record), but Stotts and Fields returned in time to lead Austin Peay to a 9-7 OVC record and a second-straight second-place finish in its division. The Governors advanced to the OVC tournament semifinals where they were up two sets on regular-season champion Morehead State before falling in five sets.
Austin Peay got off to a better start in her third season, posting six wins in nonconference play. Included in that opening run was the Governors first-ever win against Tennessee – a three-set sweep in Knoxville, Sept. 18. Austin Peay then got off to a quick start in OVC play, winning four straight to level their season mark. Yet injuries and inconsistent play ruled the season’s remainder as only three student-athletes saw action in 100 or more sets. The Governors qualified for the OVC’s postseason tournament for a third consecutive season but fell in the opening-round match.
The 2015 season did not develop as planned and Mott was forced to utilize several lineups throughout the season – ultimately nine different players started at least 10 matches and only two of those starting 30 matches or more. However, Austin Peay closed the season in impressive fashion, winning four of their final five matches, including two wins against OVC squads that reached post season play.
Mott spent her previous 13 seasons at Flagler where she posted a 304-158 career mark, including 11 consecutive 20-win seasons and led the Saints to two NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearances. She also helped lead the Flagler athletic department and through the transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II competition, serving as the assistant athletics director from 2004-06 and then as associate athletics director/senior woman administrator from 2006-11.
While her six all-time conference “Coach of the Year” citations are impressive it is the honors her student-athletes obtained during her career that are staggering. She coached six All-Americans and 24 All-Region selections during her tenure at Flagler. In addition, Mott saw 37 players named to their respective all-conference teams with seven earning a major award from their conference.
In the classroom, Mott had five players named NAIA Scholar-Athletes. In addition, 11 players received academic all-conference honors.
Mott wrapped her Flagler career by putting her team through one of the program’s toughest schedules with five nationally ranked teams dotting the regular-season schedule. Still the Saints posted a 31-7 record against that slate and clinched a share of their third consecutive regular-season title. Flagler rolled in the Peach Belt tournament, losing its only set in three matches in a championship-clinching victory against nationally-ranked Armstrong Atlantic.
The Saints continued their postseason run by winning the Division II Southeast Regional title for the second time, with sweeps of Newberry and Armstrong Atlantic before downing Wingate in five sets for the title. The Saints postseason run came to an end at eventual national runner-up Cal State San Bernadino in the opening round of the Division II Elite Eight.
Flagler ended the 2011 season ranked No. 14 in the AVCA Division II National poll. Mott again coached a pair of All-Americans setter Olivia Snipes earned third-team Division II All-American honors – the highest honor in the program’s history – while outside hitter Diana Craine was an honorable mention selection.
Flagler’s 2009 campaign, its first season as a full Division II program, was one of its finest season’s in its history. After opening the campaign with four straight losses, the Saints went 36-5 the rest of the way, winning both the Peach Belt Conference regular-season and tournament titles, grabbing the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional title and reaching the Division II Final Four. Mott also coached outside hitter Katie Beale who was named an honorable mention selection to the Division II All-America team by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
Mott’s 2010 Flagler squad showed that first foray into Division II competition wasn’t a mirage, posting a 29-9 overall mark, winning both the Peach Belt Conference’s regular-season and tournament titles again and reaching the Southeast Region’s title game before bowing out of the Division II tournament. The Saints had another honorable mention AVCA All-American in middle blocker Meg Weathersby.
Mott began her collegiate coaching career at Flagler in 1999 and three season’s later led the team to a 26-17 record in 2001, earning her first Coach of the Year citation from the Florida Sun Conference. She followed that with a 22-12 campaign that saw the Saints finish third in the Florida Sun regular-season race.
The Saints climb to the top of the Florida Sun ranks was completed with back-to-back titles in 2002 and 2003 with Mott earning Coach of the Year recognition each season. In their final season as an NAIA member, Mott led Flagler to a second place finish in the league race while posting a fifth consecutive 20-win season.
Mott led Flagler through three nomadic seasons during the transition to the Division II level with her teams continuing their string of 20-win seasons against largely Division II schedules.
In addition to her volleyball coaching duties, Mott helped start the Saints women’s golf program in 1999 and led that program for nine seasons.
A Ft. Lauderdale native, Mott (née Fleming) lettered four years in volleyball at Ole Miss. She earned Academic All-Southeastern Conference honors in 1994 and 1995. Mott received her bachelor’s in elementary education and earned her Master’s in curriculum and instruction.
Mott began her coaching career at Victory Christian School in New Albany, Miss. during 1996-97. She then coached volleyball and softball at Oxford (Miss.) High School where she led the Chargers to their only state volleyball championship in 1998. She also taught algebra at Oxford High after teaching sixth grade at Galena Middle School in Holly Springs, Miss. during 1996-97.
Mott and her husband, Brian, have a daughter, Dylan, and son Merrick, and live in the Nashville area.
