By Rich Winter

605 Sports

GAYVILLE — A birth defect doesn’t stop Taylor Hoxeng from shining in multiple sports. 

On the volleyball court, Hoxeng leads Gayville-Volin with 449 digs this season and has 2,205 career digs. Staggering numbers, especially for a player that is missing most of the fingers on her left hand. 

“I’m missing three fingers on my left hand,” said Hoxeng, a junior. “There was a blood clot that formed during my mom’s pregnancy that occurred during the development of that hand. It isn’t genetic. It's just one of those weird things that happened.” 

Not having the fingers hasn’t slowed Hoxeng down in any capacity since she started playing sports. She qualified for the Junior High National Finals Rodeo as an eighth-grader and was an honorable mention Class B basketball player last season averaging just over 17 points per game.

“It doesn’t really affect me on passing and maybe setting a little bit,” she said. “I’m pretty used to it and that’s all I’ve ever known.”

When Allison Jones took the job as volleyball coach in Gayville-Volin last season she had no idea Hoxeng, a 5-feet-4 mild mannered libero, was a ferocious competitor. 

Jones saw glimpses during fall practice but when the Raiders took the floor for the first match Hoxeng’s competitive nature spilled out all over the court.

“I was kind of floored by Taylor’s hustle and her ability to get to basically where you think there is no way anyone is going to get to that ball,” Jones said. “She is an incredibly hard working player and she continues to grow with every game.”

The Raiders qualified for the Class B state volleyball tournament in 2023, finishing eighth with a 22-14 record. Entering postseason play this season the Raiders are 26-4 and receiving votes in the latest Class B volleyball poll. 

Hoxeng said her competitive nature and the ability to never give up on a ball came from her father who began coaching her in basketball.

“I’ve always been competitive since I was little,” she said. “I have to give a lot of credit for that to my dad who said, ‘No matter how well you play, just hustle and that will be enough.’ ”

Already having a terrific year Gayville-Volin defeated then Class B No. 2 Burke in Burke on Oct. 22. As the Raiders begin postseason play on Tuesday against either Viborg-Hurley or Alcester-Hudson, Hoxeng said that win over Burke upped the confidence level of her team.

“That win over Burke was really good for us and we were all really excited,” Hoxeng said. “We’ve always been competitive with them but never finished it off in our favor. I feel like that gives us a lot of confidence and we’re entering the postseason hungry.”

The volleyball program at Gayville-Volin might just be getting rolling. The Raiders have just two seniors, two juniors and the rest of the players are freshman or sophomores. Maia Achen, a sophomore, leads the Raiders with 325 kills and freshman Paisley Zimmer is second on the team with 227 kills.  

With the graduation of setter Keeley Larson, Jones said one of the players who has stepped up this season is senior setter Britton Scheetz who has 663 assists this season.  

“Britton came to me last year at her own request wanting to get better,” Jones said. “She put in the work this summer and she just gets better on the court and always has a positive attitude on the court.” 

A year ago, Gayville-Volin was thought of as a defensive-minded team. While that label still applies to 2024, Jones said the team’s defense has inspired growth in the offensive scheme.

“We are a really dominant defensive team but the more our girls improve the better our offense gets,” she said. “We’ve not the tallest team in our region or in the state but I think an area where we’ve really improved is our blocking. We’ve put up a lot of blocks against girls that are hitting harder and higher than we normally give out and that’s because of practice and a lot of reps. 

Hoxeng said she loves the mental aspect of volleyball, noting the team mentality where everyone has to be good in order to win. In addition to her competitive hustle, Hoxeng feels an innate responsibility to get the offense rolling with a dig or pass that gets the offensive wheels flowing. 

A year ago, Hoxeng felt like the Raiders were just happy to make the state tournament. Should they qualify again she said the nerves and anxiety won’t quite be so bothersome.

“At state last year I don’t think we were quite prepared and I know I was overwhelmed in the first game,” she said. “It was nerve wracking to have never experienced that an Ithink we would be more poised if we make it back this year.”