Last updated on September 25, 2026
By: Sadie Tribe
Editor-in-Chief
This semester, along with the new women’s soccer team, Vol State introduced their first-ever volleyball team. Because women’s sports are already so overlooked, there are many challenges that come with being a brand-new team at a school.
I wanted to get the perspective of these difficulties from volleyball head coach Taylor Mott and two of her players that were nominated to give their insights on playing for the school. These players are team captains freshman Allie Chesnut and sophomore Macy Anderson, and all quotes below were provided in an interview I held with the players and coach.
The personalities of a team can make an enormous difference, and, at the collegiate level, making that transition does not always work out for players. There are so many factors, both at school and externally, that play into these changes, such as coaching staff, teammates, classes, workload, and family. Just having good coaches to rely on during tough times can drastically improve your mood and performance, making all the difference for young players.
Coach Mott started her college coaching career in 1999, with her most recent team being at Austin Peay. She gave me insight into how this is not just her job, but also her passion. I asked how she felt coaching a brand-new team and coming into this level after her Division I leading experience. She told me that it is not the coaching that’s hard, because she loves it, but it’s the difficulties that come from hoping your team meshes and has chemistry after you get them together. Not only that, but they often run into girls who think they know all the ins and outs of volleyball.
When I got to the players and asked them if anyone had a specific impact on their time here so far, both players sung their praises for Coach Mott. They agreed their coaches all mesh so well, but that Coach Mott is like a mom to them. Macy even emphasized she did not realize she wasn’t being truly coached until she got here with Coach Mott. With her, they’ve been taught that reading each other goes into so much of the team’s quality.
There are many times in life where we look back in regret at something we did or did not do, so I wanted to know what the girls would tell their past selves. Macy let me into her doubts as a player and the fear that many athletes struggle with, saying, “If I am not perfect, I will get pulled out.”
Most athletes can say they have experienced this at some point in their career. She let me know that she would tell her past self to not get into her head, and that this stems from having coaches that finally trust her so that she is able to play stress-free. Allie, however, would tell herself to be grateful that she has these opportunities.
Building a culture for a team that is brand-new can be hard, and it can often feel like there’s an immense pressure to be perfect. Now, imagine having this feeling, training so hard for the season, having good chemistry, and playing well, but no one even shows up to your games. This is the potential reality for these athletes.
When talking to the three of them, I made sure to ask what their message would be to people. For Coach Mott, she said, “Show up. There is nothing more defeating than training as much as we do, and all the things that we do and looking up at the stands and there is no one there.” She also gave some encouraging factors for potential fans, “It’s free…the girls are good…I would just encourage people to show up and support us.”
On the girls’ end, they had a similar rhetoric to give. Allie says, “at every home game, we have it where people can serve, and if you hit whatever prize, then you get whatever it is,” referring to the team’s intermission games with the audience. Macy had something to say to the people who have never even watched volleyball, “it is a very fast paced game where someone gets a point every time.”
If you have never seen a game, do not know if you would even want to go, or have any other reason keeping you from voicing support for the team, please know that others simply showing up is important to them. Their next home game is Thursday, October 1 at our Gallatin Campus’s Pickel Fieldhouse, so come and help them pioneer a fantastic inaugural season.
Photos are courtesy of Zamauri Wilson, Vol State Community College Student, Instagram @zwilphotos.
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