For Taylor Jacobsen, the love affair with volleyball started when she was 5 years old, passing and peppering in the front yard with her sister Lauren. From there, her talent, and her passion for the game grew, as she made a 12-year-olds club team at the age of just 9.

“She was always one of those kids who was just athletic,” Hamilton coach Sharon Vanis said. “Before I coached her one of my friends kept telling me that her volleyball IQ was off the charts. That’s something that’s always made Taylor special. That and her ability to be a great leader.”

Club ball was just one stop on the road to a great high school career for Taylor -- a career that took a rough turn last fall when her season all but ended before a preseason scrimmage.

In a freak accident in which Taylor accidently stepped on a teammate's foot during a drill, she managed to tear off the bottom of her fibula and shatter her talus. Before the Huskies season even began, they were without their best outside hitter.

“It was disruptive because with Taylor on the floor we had a pretty dynamic team,” Vanis said. “On the first serve before a scrimmage she get’s hurt and doesn’t even get to step on the floor. After that I don’t think we ever really got into sync because Taylor was that easing factor for us.”

Without Taylor, the team finished the year 25-16, and entered the tournament as the No. 6 seed. It was Hamilton’s first sub-30-win season and lowest tournament seeding in eight years.

“It was super tough going from sophomore year, stepping into that leadership role and seeing how much I could help this team,” Taylor said,  “to really being helpless standing on the sidelines. I tried my best to help them in other ways, but it’s just not the same feeling as playing.”

During the state tournament, Taylor was finally cleared to play, but in addition to her ankle being nowhere near 100 percent on the floor, she was also fighting off mononucleosis. Ultimately the struggles of the season were too much for Hamilton to overcome, as for the second straight season they were eliminated by Mountain Pointe.

Fast forward one year, opening night for the Huskies' 2018 campaign against Highland. With Taylor back in the lineup, backed by stellar performances from freshmen Jordan Middleton and Micah Gryniewicz, the Huskies started the season off in style, defeating Highland in a clean sweep.

“It kind of took me by shock a little,” Middleton said. “How well we were playing and how well we were bonding with the team. Our chemistry was so good. Everything just clicked, and I love that because they just accept you for who you are.”

Younger starters like Middleton and Gryniewicz looked up to Jacobsen and felt right at home on the varsity floor with her and other seniors in the lineup.

“She pushes me to the best of my abilities,” Middleton said. “After I make a mistake, she’ll talk to me and I’ll know that I can shake it off.”

The Huskies, with a good mix of young talent, and senior leadership, began to thrive. Taylor’s presence on the floor was felt immediately as the Huskies cruised to another 30-win season.

“Taylor is a huge leader and brings a sense of calmness on the court,” junior libero and Tulsa commit Bella Zapata said. “When we’re nervous or down she gets us to slow down and see that we can do this if we take things one pass at a time.”

Taylor's calming presence on the floor hasn’t just put the minds of the Hamilton players at ease, it’s also taken some of the burden off of Coach Vanis, who is in her 15th season with the Huskies.

“I know that I’ve done everything I can do up until game time but then it’s up to them,” Vanis said. “To know that we have two or three kids out there who can make adjustments on the floor is huge. I only get two timeouts so if we can save those with them out on the floor that’s big.”

For the ninth time in as many years, Hamilton headed to the state tournament. With 31 wins and a three-seed in hand, the Huskies began their tournament the same way they began their season, with a big victory over the Highland Hawks.

Advancing to the quarterfinals for a ninth consecutive time, Hamilton was faced with a familiar foe -- the Pride of Mountain Pointe. The team that had eliminated them in back-to-back years stood ready to vanquish the Huskies once more. This time however, it was Hamilton which emerged victorious and advanced to the semifinals.

On Monday night, the Huskies headed to Highland to face Xavier Prep, a team they had already defeated three times this season. Taylor, along with many of her teammates, didn’t just want this for themselves, they wanted it for the coach that helped get them here.

“I want to do it for coach Vanis,” Taylor said. “I know it’s my last year before college and I didn’t really get the chance to help her get that state title last year that she’s been working towards.”

Vanis, who has over 400 wins as the head coach at Hamilton, had taken the Huskies to the finals three times before, but has never had a team raise the trophy to finish the season. She has, however had a lasting impact on her players, many of whom, like Taylor, she has coached since their early teens.

“She makes you want to win,” junior setter Reilly Babcock said. “The way she coaches us gives us a drive to want to achieve our goals and say I got there because I worked hard.”

Hamilton suffered a tough loss to the Gators of Xavier Prep on Monday, losing in a clean sweep. However, Monday was not be the last time that Taylor will set foot on the court. The senior outside hitter turned down offers from top programs like Nebraska, who has won two of the last three NCAA titles, to stay local and play for NAU, just like her sister Lauren.

“I just fell in love with NAU and the idea of being close to home in a small town,” Taylor said.

Taylor isn’t the only person happy about this decision as her mother Theresa Jacobsen will watch her youngest daughter and last child graduate this spring.

“It’s bittersweet, but I feel blessed that Taylor has achieved so much,” Theresa said. “I’m so glad she decided to stay in state so I can continue to watch her play. I’m very excited for her.”

Taylor will take the court as a Lumberjack next fall as NAU looks to continue building their program. NAU shocked the nation in Flagstaff taking down ranked Florida last season.