Taylor Morgan Announced as AVCA Diversity Award Winner
November 05, 2020 | Women's Volleyball
Minnesota Stand Out Joined Cardinals Coaching Staff for 2020
University of Louisville volunteer volleyball coach Taylor Morgan was named as a recipient of the 2020 AVCA Diversity Award.
For the 2020 AVCA Diversity Award program, recipients will participate in a series of educational, developmental, and relationship building experiences in conjunction with the 2020 AVCA Virtual Convention, December 16-19 (With all 2020 AVCA Diversity Award winners being invited to in-person programming at the 2021 AVCA Convention in Columbus, Ohio). Recipients will also be integrated into the AVCA Diversity Award winner alumni program that consists of continuing education, relationship building, and mentoring upon completion of the initial programming. The award will provide more Black and more ethnic minority coaches the chance to strengthen their professional networks and help prepare the next generation of coaches to pursue their future dreams. The partnerships in the AVCA community to help educate, engage, and strengthen Black and ethnic minority coaches is not only intentional but critical to showcase the leaders who have come through the Diversity Program and their positive impact in the sport.
Morgan, a 6-0 middle blocker, spent her collegiate career at Minnesota, a powerhouse volleyball program in the Big Ten. As a senior, she was named Second Team All-Big Ten and was an All-Region Honorable Mention. Playing in 111 sets for the Gophers and ranking fifth on the team in kills with 216, she was ranked second on the team in hitting percentage (.343), solo blocks (11), block assists (130), total blocks (141) and blocks per set (1.27).  She finished her Gopher career playing in 97 matches and 280 sets and tallied 514 kills and 283 blocks. She was named to the Preseason All-Big Ten and had a career-best 11 blocks against Indiana and set a career-best 16 kills and 26 attempts in the win over Iowa. She had a team-best five blocks in NCAA First Round and had nine blocks against Creighton and had 13 blocks, hit .481 and 15 kills during the NCAA Regionals, where she helped the Gophers down the Cinderella Cardinals in the Regional Final.
As a junior, she earned All-America honorable mention and was a Second Team All-Big Ten selection as well as an AVCA All-North Region selection. She had 249 kills, averaged 2.42 kills per set, and 113 blocks in her first year as a starter.
As a sophomore in 2017, she saw action in 42 sets for the Gophers, recording 32 kills and 18 blocks. She played in three sets during the Big Ten/ACC Challenge and saw action during the Diet Coke Classic and the American Campus Classic as well as Big Ten action throughout the season.
After redshirting her true freshman season with a knee injury, she played in 24 sets and 13 matches during the 2016 season. She saw action in her first collegiate game against No. 11 Stanford and started against Green Bay, adding three blocks, 10 kills, hitting .500 prior to her Big Ten campaign.
She played high school volleyball at Blaine (Minnesota) and was ranked as the 89th recruit in the national recruiting class. She played on the Blaine Varsity volleyball team since her freshman year and saw action as both a middle blocker and outside hitter. She helped lead the Bengals to a state-tournament berth and was named to the state's all-tournament team where she had 35 kills as she led her team to a third-place finish. As a sophomore, she had 230 kills and hit .409 as she garnered all-conference honors.
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She graduated from Minnesota with a bachelor's in youth studies. Her dad, Matt Bingle, is the University of Minnesota's director of women's track & field and cross country.
