Flagler Palm Coast volleyball team improves to 5-1 with 3-0 sweep of Atlantic

Grace Taylor returns from a year off to become a team leader as a hitter and a setter.

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This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Flagler Palm Coast volleyball team, but it isn’t.

The Bulldogs graduated six players from last year’s team, but they returned Grace Taylor, who took a year off from volleyball last season. Taylor, an outside hitter and a setter, had 12 kills and seven service aces in FPC’s 3-0 home win over Atlantic on Tuesday, Sept. 1.

With the sweep, the Bulldogs improved to 5-1. Their only loss was a five-set thriller at county-rival Matanzas on Aug. 25.

Taylor and Faith Dailey were the Bulldogs’ setters in 2024. Taylor, who used to play for Top Select Volleyball Academy in Orlando, took a break from playing volleyball and became the team’s manager last year. She’s also a javelin thrower on the track team and placed 10th in the state at the Class 4A meet last season.

Now she’s back playing volleyball and is being relied on as both a hitter and a setter.

“We need her to do both,” FPC coach Lindsey Stewart said. “We have her setting in the back row and hitting in the front row.”

Taylor leads the Bulldogs with 81 kills and is second on the team in digs behind fellow co-captain Kaitlyn Ebding, the team’s senior libero. Taylor is also second in assists behind sophomore setter Tatum Hamilton.

“Grace’s volleyball IQ is unmatched,” Stewart said.

The Bulldogs defeated the Sharks 25-14, 25-22 and 25-9. All three sets were delayed because the Sharks were out of rotation and the referees took time to sort it out.

“I think the second set, we just kind of let the delays get to us a little bit and thought we had it in the bag,” Stewart said. “We just needed to work a little bit harder for that one. But the 25-9 game is FPC volleyball.”

Atlantic tied FPC at 21 in the second set before the Bulldogs won four of the next five points to win the set.

Hamilton led the Bulldogs with eight digs in the match.

The Bulldogs play their next three matches on the road before returning home on Sept. 10 against Taylor. They will have a rematch on Sept. 24 with Matanzas at home.

“Matanzas is our biggest game of the year,” Stewart said.

 

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