FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (July 31, 2020) – If
Taylor Jacobsen replicates the success her older sister, Lauren, enjoyed at NAU, the Big Sky Conference is in for double the trouble.
Before they were racking up kills in Rolle Activity Center,
Lauren and
Taylor Jacobsen's volleyball beginnings trace back to their driveway and yard. Six years apart in age, peppering between two sisters started a love for the sport that would eventually lead them both to Northern Arizona University.
In need of a pepper partner when she was picking up the sport, Lauren – a two-time All-Big Sky performer during her three-year Lumberjack career from 2014-16 – didn't have to look far for one. She had the perfect partner in Taylor, who eventually started playing volleyball at the YMCA at the age of seven.
"Taylor being six years younger than me is one of the best things that could ever happen for her volleyball career," Lauren said. "She was super young but we would always go out on the grass and pepper together. She'd be so scared that I would hit the ball really hard because I was older than her, but it exposed her to the sport at a young age. Whenever my friends were over and we were peppering, because we were at such a higher level than she was, it made her a way better player a lot faster."
Deciding between soccer, basketball or volleyball, it didn't take long for Taylor to find her answer. Watching Lauren's club tournaments and high school matches at Chandler's Hamilton High had her hooked. Volleyball would be her sport – just like her older sister – and Taylor never looked back.
Taylor was just a high school freshman at Hamilton as Lauren was stringing together an all-conference junior season during NAU's historic Big Sky Championship season in 2015. A year later, Taylor started garnering interest from one of the biggest programs in the country.
"The first college card I received from a coach was University of Nebraska and that was the year after they won the national championship," Taylor said. "I was 15 or 16 when they gave me their card. They came to one of our club practices and I literally was shaking because that was my dream school. I went home and I was like 'I'm going to Nebraska' and then my mom told me to think about it."
Although the prospect of playing for her dream school was enticing, Taylor ultimately decided that being close to home was a priority. The University of Arizona entered the recruiting picture next, but that was not an option growing up in a Sun Devil household with both her mother and older brother former Arizona State basketball players.
That left Arizona State and Northern Arizona as her preferred options, and Taylor leaned on her older sister for some advice.
"Lauren played a huge factor in me deciding to come to NAU," Taylor said. "I was able to develop an early relationship with the coaches and understand how things are run here by coming to camps. Ken (Murphy) really cares about his players off the court and not only just on the court and that was a huge deal for me. Lauren showed me all the things she loved about Flagstaff and NAU and I fell in love with the same things."
Lauren emphasized the importance of fit and as well as proximity to their home in Chandler – two things she found at NAU after starting her career at San Jose State – when advising Taylor.
"One of the biggest things I told her when she was being recruited is you can go to these big schools and it's cool, but do you love your coach and do you fit in to the team?" Lauren said. "When I left San Jose State, I felt a little shut down and while the passion for volleyball was still there, it was diminished a little. When I went to NAU, Ken was such an amazing coach and he would meet with me to talk to me about my academics and how I was getting along with the team. I never had that before."
"I also struggled with being home sick my freshman year and my mom and dad weren't able to come to all of my games," Lauren added. "When I was growing up and my brother was playing at ASU, we went to every single one of his games. To not have that, it was hard for me so I told her you don't think it'll be a big deal until you don't have it."
Taylor committed to NAU as a junior – a season that was nearly wiped out completely following freak accident in which she suffered an avulsion fracture of her fibula and a shatter of her during a preseason scrimmage.
The injury was devastating and required Taylor to be off her feet and on a scooter for two and a half months. Hamilton's state championship hopes went with Taylor's injury, and while Taylor was motivated – and cleared – to play prior to the state tournament, her ankle never fully healed.
"That injury was one of the hardest things I've ever gone through being away from volleyball," Taylor said. "At that age, I thought volleyball was who I was as a person; it defined my whole life. But I didn't want to be the person who holds us back from winning state so I came back earlier than I was supposed to."
In search of help to get her through this time, she once again turned to a familiar source.
During her Lumberjack career, Lauren battled her share of injuries yet still managed to start all 94 matches in her three years. Remembered for her trademark toughness, Lauren emphasized the mental strength required to overcome the challenges that come with a serious physical setback.
"You're so tired of not being able to play and you get emotional about it because you want to so badly," Lauren said. "When you're starting back, you're not as good because your body is out of shape and you haven't practiced in months. It's all mental toughness. It was huge for her to have people in her life who were seeing her struggle on a daily basis and to tell her that we've been there too."
Taylor returned in a big way in her final prep season, ranking sixth at the 6A level and 17th in the state with 413 kills as a senior in 2018. She averaged 3.5 kills and 3.2 digs per set while earning 6A Premier All-Region First Team honors and leading Hamilton to 33 victories and a No. 3 rank in the state.
Once she made it to NAU's campus last summer, she immediately impressed as advertised.
"She's exactly what we thought she'd be," said head coach
Ken Murphy. "She's a very tough competitor and she comes to get better every minute of every day. She pushes her teammates to get better and she's fearless out there. Physically, I think she's already one of the better outside hitters in our conference."
Taylor garnered All-Big Sky Second Team accolades following a freshman season in which she started all 32 matches and ranked second on the team with 2.68 kills per set. She was a six-rotation player who impacted the game both offensively, defensively (third with 3.37 digs per set) and at the service line (third with 37 aces).
Impressively, the Lumberjacks' young outside hitter raised her level in some of NAU's biggest victories including a sweep of LSU (nine kills on .286 hitting) and a come-from-behind conference tournament win versus Idaho (season-best 19 kills on .415 hitting). She also hit a whopping .481 and totaled 14 kills to propel the 'Jacks to a resounding sweep of Northern Colorado – the Bears' only Big Sky loss during their championship season last fall.
Taylor's debut season wasn't without its lows as the first-year Lumberjack experienced typical freshman struggles from time to time. However, she emerged from it a more controlled player equipped with skills to only elevate her play moving forward.
"In the past, I was super overwhelmed with trying to do everything for the team instead of worrying about what I can control and do," Taylor said. "It took me a good half to three-quarters of the season to figure out that I don't always need to get a kill on the first swing; keep the ball in play, cause pressure and let the other team make errors. I'm able to move on after an error is made, learn from that mistake and focus on what I can control on the next point. That will help me the rest of my career for sure."
The support from her older sister has helped her to this point, and will continue to help her for years to come. Yet, the friendly competition between sisters, instilled in them by their ultra-competitive mother, will also drive her.
Lauren is the most recent of six players in program history to record both 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs, having accomplished the feat in just three years – a fact not lost on Taylor. Although they're both competitive by nature, Taylor will have Lauren cheering for her from the stands, just as she did for so many years when she was younger.
"We're super competitive but at the same time, we love when each other achieves goals," Lauren said. "I hope she beats me in the 1,000/1,000 club. I want her to have a better career than I did. She's my younger sister and you always want to see family succeed. It's cool to see her grow and help build the team that she wants at NAU and make that culture her own."
Both physical and athletic outside hitters, they share a lot of similarities. Still, Murphy, who has coached both Jacobsen sisters, makes it a point to separate the two when on the court.
"They're a great family and they're so tight; I try not to compare them very often in the gym," Murphy said. "I want Taylor to be her own player. I loved coaching Lauren and I love coaching Taylor because they're both so intense and ready to go every single day. There are a lot of personality traits that are really similar and that's one of the reasons I admire both Lauren and Taylor."
What Taylor achieves in the next three years remain to be seen, but the heights that she can reach appear to be limitless. Regardless of the highs and lows though, she will have the support of her family and most importantly, her older sister, every step of the way.
After all without Lauren, her athletic career could look vastly different than it does today.
