Taylor will compete with the national team in the World Deaf Volleyball Championships this summer in Washington, D.C., and then in the 22nd Summer in Samsun, Turkey, in 2017. Taylor is ; the six others listed are developmental athletes.

Taylor’s journey as a collegiate player began with frustration: he played in only 12 sets his freshman year and eventually transferred to Radford University. But in his year away, Hunter realized that he missed playing volleyball.  In fact, he needed to play volleyball.

“Late March at Radford I started going through some rough times,” said Hunter.  “I lost myself.  A close friend of mine told me she didn’t know who I was anymore. I vowed to her that I’d find myself and find a way to make myself happy again. I was also failing school and my grandfather was getting sicker and sicker that year. I felt like I needed to find myself again and go back to my roots.”

His grandfather died in December. A simple drive on I-81 started turning the wheels to get him back at EMU.

“One day I drove back to Radford and while passing the Harrisonburg exit, I texted my old roommate, teammate and best friend, (Montpelier, Va./Patrick Henry).  I asked him if it would be crazy if I came back to EMU and he said that the team could use me.  I considered it and months later I had applied to EMU and was back to where I first started.”

Back with the Royals, Taylor has had an impressive start to his second collegiate volleyball season.  In a match against Lancaster Bible College, the opposite matched his career high of seven kills for the second straight contest with a .500 attack percentage on just 12 swings.  He also added four service aces, two blocks and five digs.

“Hunter works hard. You can tell he wants it more than ever,” Coach Dominick Porter said. “Since he’s been back, he’s matured so much and he’s developed a lot, too. He has much more control, he’s much more effective when it comes to hitting, as you can see he hit .500. He can just go up and get a ball.”

Taylor says his deafness has little impact on his ability to play at an elite level. “Honestly I don’t think it affects me as much as you think it would,” he said. “Volleyball is a lot of hand signals and people yell ‘ball’ loud enough so I get out of the way most of the time.  Then again, I’ve had coaches and even teachers tell me they didn’t want me on their team or in their classroom because they didn’t want to face my disability.  So I’ve always kept that chip on my shoulder whenever I play or try to ace a test.”

Taylor was the first two-year-old in the world to have the MED-EL cochlear implant for hearing loss implanted under his skin.

“It’s cool to see the same people that go through what I go through on a daily basis and people be fluent in sign language while communicating with others,” he noted.  “It’s like a new language that you’re just fascinated to see and want to keep watching.”

Meanwhile, the team is happy to have Hunter back.  His presence adds new energy and dedication.

“We love him,” Porter said. “Before he left, I even told him, ‘If you ever want to come back please come back.’  I knew he wanted to play volleyball and I guess he just wasn’t ready at the time to do what he’s doing now.”

Taylor said he is just happy to be playing volleyball at EMU.

“It feels great to be back, I’m a more confident player this time around,”said Taylor.  “It’s weird, it’s like taking a year off from volleyball was the best thing I’ve ever done for my career – I’m still figuring out my role on the team, but I’m always ready to come in and give a spark to the team whenever Dom calls on me. My freshman year I came in expecting a lot of things, so this year to avoid stress I’m coming in with no expectations.  I’m just happy to be here.”

“We finally have what we need to get there,” Porter explained, “a setter and pin hitters that can effectively put away in the clutch.”

The men finished 14-10 overall in 2015, but 3-9 in the CVC to just miss the tournament.

Having seven returners, including five who saw consistent playing time, means Porter has a strong base of players back.

“It means we have guys that want it more than ever,” Porter added.  “After not making the tournament, they know what it feels like to watch it all come down to who beats who during the season, rather than simply focusing on making the tournament field.”

The CVC slate of matches starts with road dates at Juniata and Thiel on Feb. 5 and 6, respectively.  But preparations began with a tri-match over Jan. 15-16, in which the team was 1-2,  winning against NAIA Bluefield and posting losses to D-II Alderson Broaddus and  D-II Coker.

Junior outside hitter (Montpelier, Va./Patrick Henry) was the team’s leading hitter last year with 221 kills, despite missing eight matches.  His lofty average of 3.81 kills per set was even higher until he filled in as the setter for three matches.

Porter said that Brigham, one of the Royals’ three captains, is stronger this season after spending time in the gym.  But his leadership will be just as important as his play.

“Being one of only two upperclassmen, Scott has and will be our on-the-court leader,” Porter said.  “And we need him to be that to reach our goals this year.  He has done a great job of communicating on-court responsibilities during a match and leads the unit on the court.”

The Royals return a large defensive presence, both in the back row and at the net.  Libero (Richmond, Va./Douglas Freeman) (2.41 digs per set) and Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) (1.44 digs per set) bring a load of poise to the back row, while middle (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) (67 blocks, .356 attack percentage) quickly blossomed in his first season of organized volleyball.

“Micah and Colton will be very important for us this year,” explained Porter.  “They have both showed an aggressive nature on the court, scrapping and getting to every ball.  They will be our biggest asset on defense we look for them to take over on the court.  Dan, with a year under his belt, will be our biggest threat at the net as he is truly developing into a blocking powerhouse.”

Buller and Lutz are also team captains.  All three are from last year’s talented freshmen class, as is outside hitter (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin), who was second on the team with 191 kills (2.48 per set).

“Tim spent the summer getting into shape and it shows when he attacks the ball,” Porter noted.  “As a result, there is a level of aggression when going after a set.”

Senior (Chester, Va./Thomas Dale) and sophomore (Gloucester, Va./Gloucester) each played in at least 10 matches as middles in 2015 and will look to expand their roles this year.

Freshman setter (Henrico, Va./Deep Run) headlines the new freshmen class, with (Mechanicsville, Va./Lee-Davis) and (North Chesterfield, Va./Thomas Dale) leading the charge for court time as transfers.  (Richmond, Va./Patrick Henry) (1.08 kills and 0.58 blocks per set in 2014) returns after a year away from EMU.

“William previously played for national power Carthage,” Porter said, “and we look to use him in multiple roles to reach our goals this year, as well as utilizing his leadership on the court.”

Freshmen (Temple Terrace, Fla./C. Leon King), (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) and (Mechanicsville, Va./Lee-Davis) will also be pushing for playing time.

Porter said that while he has more offensive weapons this season, the key will still be ball control.

“I need our liberos and setter to have a big statistical year.  Everything else will molded around their output and success.”

As noted by the two D-II opponents over opening weekend, the Royals have beefed up their non-divisional matches, which have been mostly absent since the NCAA began sponsoring a D-III national tournament in 2012.  Men’s volleyball is unique in comparison to most other collegiate sports, as the voters in the national poll actually do take into account how teams do outside of their divisional contests.

Along with Coker and Alderson Broaddus, Porter added matches against D-II teams King, Lees-McRae and Limestone.  All three play in the Conference Carolinas, whose teams were common opponents for Eastern Mennonite half a decade ago.

Porter said those additions were intentional to increase the level of play of the men’s opponents.

“The guys are excited to play tougher competition,” he said, indicating that change would help the team accomplish their goals for the season.  “Our immediate goal is to make our conference tournament.  Secondary is to come into the conference tournament higher than the fourth seed.”

EMU’s coach said that with the increased offensive options and overall knowledge of his players, the Royals are ready to take that next step in 2016.

“One of our main strengths will be the number of players on our roster that have a high level of volleyball IQ,” explained Porter.  “With our transfers and current balance, I think this year we will show we are a new team.”