Taylor Lee Sander (born March 17, 1992) is an American professional

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side o ...

player and

indoor volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

player. As a member of the U.S. national team, he won a bronze medal at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

and the 2018 World Championship. The 2014 World League and the 2015 World Cup winner.

Personal life

Sander is the son of Steven and Kera Sander. He has an older sister and a younger brother, Brenden, who also plays volleyball and is a current member of Brazilian team Sada Volei Cruzeiro. He graduated from Norco High School in Norco, California. At BYU Taylor majored in Global Studies. His parents are LDS, and he grew up LDS (

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

– also known by the nickname Mormons). In July 2015, he married Rachel McQuivey, who represented the BYU Track & Field team as a long jumper and hurdler. In June 2018, Taylor and Rachel welcomed their first child and in November of 2021 they welcomed their second. Taylor and Rachel divorced in July 2021, prior to the birth of their second child. Taylor is now public with his relationship with Hannah Tapp, USA volleyball player and middle blocker of the San Diego Mojo Volleyball team.

Career

Beach Volleyball

In the summer of 2022, Sander started his professional beach volleyball career with Taylor Crabb. The team won the 2022 AVP Phoenix Open - Sept 24 - 25. Then, two months later, on November 13, 2022 Sander and Crabb also won the 2022 AVP Tour Series Huntington Beach Open, having entered the tournament as the #1 seed. They came away with $8,000 in prize winnings.

College

He was recruited by

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

Long Beach State California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), also known in athletics as Long Beach State University (LBSU), is a public teaching-focused institution in Long Beach, California, United States. The 322-acre campus is the second largest in the ...

UC Irvine UC may refer to: Education In the United States * University of California system * University of Charleston, West Virginia * University of Chicago, Illinois * University of Cincinnati, Ohio * Upsala College, East Orange, New Jersey (''defunct ...

, and BYU. At

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

Sander was a four-time AVCA

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

(three first-team citations, one second-team citation), the 2014 AVCA Player of the Year, 2013 and 2014 MPSF Player of the Year, 2013 and 2014 MPSF Tournament MVP, and four-time All-MPSF First Team. He holds the BYU all-time single-match record for service aces (nine) and career service aces (182). In the rally-scoring era, is No. 1 at BYU in career kills (1,743), career attempts (3,464), career service aces (182), season attempts (1,021 in 2014), season service aces (55 in 2014) and aces in a match (nine). Regarding his decision to attend BYU he said in January 2012, "Growing up in Huntington Beach (Calif.) I've always been a big BYU fan. I grew up LDS and with my parents being LDS, that was the school we always cheered for and I've always wanted to go to BYU since I was a kid."

Club

Sander signed a contract with Verona Volley, an Italian Serie A1 team (top level), on June 10, 2014.

National team

Sander competed with Team USA in the 2014 FIVB World League. 4th ranked U.S. upset 1st ranked Brazil to win the tournament, and Sander was named "best outside spiker" and tournament MVP (which included a $30,000 prize award). He was on the U.S. men's roster for the 2014 FIVB World Championships in Poland, August 30 – September 21, 2014 and was selected as U.S. Volleyball's Men's Team Rookie of the Year. He was a member of the U.S. team that competed in the 2015 NORCECA Champions Cup in Detroit, Michigan, May 21–23, 2015. Against Mexico May 21, 2015, Sander had 7 points on 6 spikes and 1 block. The U.S. defeated Mexico 25-15, 25-12, 25-17. The following day Team USA defeated Cuba in four sets, 20-25, 25-17, 25-10, 25-14, guaranteeing a top two finish and a spot in the 2015 FIVB World Cup to be held September 8–23, 2015 in Japan. Sander totaled 15 points on 10 spikes, 3 blocks, and 2 aces. In the championship match, May 23, 2015, the U.S. lost to Canada in five sets, 22-25, 25-19, 25-21, 21-25, 15-17. He again totaled 15 points, this time on 12 spikes and 3 aces. He is on the U.S. Preliminary Roster for the 2015 FIVB World League. He played in the first World League match against Iran, May 30, 2015, in Los Angeles. He led all scorers with 19 points on 16 kills, two blocks and one ace. During the U.S. broadcast of this match on the NBC Sports Network May 31, 2015, Sander appeared to injure his ankle late in the 3rd set after colliding with a teammate on a block attempt and landing awkwardly. Thomas Jaeschke came in soon afterwards and finished out the set, but Sander returned to play all of the 4th set. He did not play in the second match against Iran and was not on the roster for the next two matches against Russia. He also was not on the roster for the matches against Poland June 12 and 13, 2015, in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, due to an ankle injury, but did travel and practice with the team. Coach John Speraw mentioned during the press conference following the 2nd match against Poland that he was not sure when Sander would be ready to play again. He traveled with the team to Iran and was back on the roster for the June 19 and 21 matches played/to be played in Tehran, Iran at the Azadi Stadium. He played the entire 3rd set of the 0-3 (19-25, 27-29, 20-25) loss to Iran June 19, 2015. He scored 5 points on 5 kills from 9 attempts. He also had 1 dig and 4 excellent receptions out of 5 attempts.

Honors

Club

CEV Champions League The CEV Champions League is the top official competition for men's volleyball clubs from the whole of Europe. The competition is organised every year by the European Volleyball Confederation. Formula (2018–19 to present) Qualification A tota ...

2017–18 – with Cucine Lube Civitanova * FIVB Club World Championship ** Silver medal world centered-2

Poland 2017 – with Cucine Lube Civitanova * CSV South American Club Championship ** Gold medal southamerica

Belo Horizonte 2019 – with Sada Cruzeiro *

CEV Challenge Cup The CEV Challenge Cup is the third tier official competition for men's volleyball clubs from the whole of Europe. The competition started in the 1980–81 season under the name CEV Cup. In 2007 it was renamed to CEV Challenge Cup. History * # ...

2015–16 – with Calzedonia Verona * Domestic ** 2016–17 Simple gold cup

Qatari Cup, with Al Arabi Doha ** 2018–19 Simple gold cup

Brazilian Cup, with Sada Cruzeiro

Youth national team

* 2008

NORCECA U19 Championship * 2010 Gold medal northamerica

NORCECA U21 Championship

Individual awards

* 2012: Pan American Cup – Most valuable player * 2013: NCAA national championship – All-tournament Team * 2013: Pan American Cup – Best server * 2014:

AVCA The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) is an organization of over 9,000 members, incorporated as a private non-profit corporation, non-profit educational corporation in 1981, as the Collegiate Volleyball Coaches Association. It is cur ...

National Player of the Year * 2014: NCAA national championship – All-tournament team * 2014:

FIVB World League The FIVB Volleyball World League was an annual international men's volleyball competition. Created in 1990, it was the longest and richest of all the international events organized by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB). The wome ...

– Most valuable player * 2014:

– Best outside hitter * 2016:

– Most valuable player * 2018: FIVB Nations League – Best outside hitter * 2019: CSV South American Club Championship – Most valuable player

References

External links

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Taylor Sander
at

BYU Cougars The BYU Cougars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Brigham Young University (BYU), located in Provo, Utah. BYU fields 21 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) varsity athletic teams. They are a member of the Big 12 C ...

Taylor Sander
at

USA Volleyball USA Volleyball (USAV) is a non-profit organization which is recognized as the national governing body of volleyball in the United States by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committe ...

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sander, Taylor 1992 births Living people Sportspeople from Fountain Valley, California Norco High School alumni American men's beach volleyball players American men's volleyball players Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in volleyball Volleyball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Volleyball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics American expatriate volleyball players in Italy American expatriate volleyball players in China American expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Expatriate volleyball players in Qatar American expatriate volleyball players in Brazil American expatriate volleyball players in Poland BYU Cougars men's volleyball players Verona Volley players Skra Bełchatów players Outside hitters 21st-century American sportsmen