The Taylor volleyball team claimed its spot among the NAIA's top 12 teams Thursday afternoon by defeating Mobile (Ala.) 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-20) in the last of three pool play matches in Sioux City, Iowa, at the 2009 NAIA Volleyball National Championship.

After posting a 2-1 record in pool play, the Trojans (37-6) will now advance to the 12-team single elimination bracket on Friday. Although Taylor's opponent and match time will not be determined until late this evening, the team will play tomorrow at either 10 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. Central Time.

"This was a great team effort," Taylor head coach Brittany Smith said. "It was exciting to see all of our hitters contribute and a very balanced defensive effort. Strong team play has gotten us this far, and we know that will be key for us to advance in this tournament."

The Trojans never trailed through the first two sets against Mobile, finishing with a hitting percentage of .260 compared to just .027 for the Rams.

Making their fifth NAIA National Tournament appearance overall and their first since 2001, Taylor advances past pool play for the first time since 1997.

That team, which was coached by current Taylor Athletic Director, Dr. Angie Fincannon, finished in the NAIA Elite Eight with a record of 48-3. Current Taylor head coach Brittany (Huyser) Smith was a starting sophomore middle blocker under Fincannon during the '97 tournament run.

Taylor showed a high energy level from the very first serve Thursday, taking a 4-0 lead to start the match on two Jackie Geile kills. The lead ballooned to its biggest margin at 23-14 before three straight Mobile kills made it 23-17. NAIA kills leader Kelsey Pritchard pounded her sixth kill and brought up set point, followed by an attack error by the Rams to make it 1-0 Taylor.

In the second set, Taylor forced Mobile into a timeout after building a 15-9 lead, but the Rams responded with a 7-1 run that tied the set at 16-16. Five straight Mobile hitting errors gave Taylor breathing room before two straight aces by the Rams closed the gap back to 21-19. The Trojans picked up kills from Pritchard, Geile, and then Rachel Kizer posted a kill to end the second set 25-22.

Mobile grabbed their only lead of the match at 2-1 in the final set when Taylor started with two straight hitting errors. It was tight throughout the set as the score was knotted three different times. Taylor extended its lead to 22-18 on a kill by Kizer to lead by more than three points for the first time since early in the set. Geile closed out the match with a kill to give the NAIA all-time wins leader program win No. 1,045.

Geile led a balanced offensive attack for the Trojans with 11 kills, while Pritchard added 10. Taylor had four other players with at least 3 kills in the match. Brown orchestrated the offense to the tune of 34 assists. The sophomore also added 3 kills and 2 aces for the Trojans.

Mobile tested the Taylor serve receive, recording 10 aces in the match, but the Trojans' back row outdug the Rams by a margin of 48-46. All nine players that saw the floor for Taylor recorded at least one dig, led by 13 from freshman Courtney Herschberger. The trio of Pritchard, Bethany Beck, and Colleen Nelis posted two blocks apiece to lead the Trojans at the net.

Mobile finished their season with an overall record of 25-13. The Rams were led by senior Whitney Knight with 10 kills.

Live stats and live audio links for Friday's match will be available at the Championship Central page on the Taylor athletics website.

A live video stream of the match on Friday will be available for a fee at tp://www.watchnaia.com.