Taylor Sembower: Buchholz Volleyball’s Nationally Ranked Outside Hitter
Taylor Sembower is a four-time national champion with her travel volleyball club, Gainesville Juniors, and is the sixth-ranked player nationally for the class of 2029, according to Vballrecruiter.
The Buchholz outside hitter is only a freshman, but is already in her second year playing varsity high school volleyball.
Last year, she was invited by coach Ruben Perez to play on The Rock High School’s varsity volleyball team as an eighth-grader. Sembower had the third most kills on the team with 76, and helped it win the National Christian School Athletic Association volleyball title.
“He really taught me to just swing as much as I can and I think that really improved my confidence as a player,” Sembower said of Perez.
Sembower started playing volleyball when she was about 10 years old and Buchholz volleyball coach Andre Medina was the first to instruct her.
Medina helped Sembower transition from a middle hitter to a six-rotation outside hitter when she was 11 years old.
“It was her very first year playing volleyball and we could see how athletic she was, how all-around she was,” Medina said. “She’s a sponge in the gym, she learns so fast and so that entire summer going into her 12s season it was basically just ‘All right, I’ve got to teach you how to play outside,’ and she hasn’t looked back since then.”
Sembower has been an essential part of Buchholz’s success this season. She leads not only the Bobcats, but Class 6A-District 2 with 228 kills and is second on the team with 33 aces and 148 digs.
Watch Taylor Sembower’s ace against Eastside!
“She’s a kid that can legitimately do it all,” Medina said. “I’ve been part of her life for a long time now, so it’s very awesome to see that she’s playing for me here at school ball.”
Expectations and a reputation follow Sembower when she walks into any gym.
“Sometimes I just have to say to myself, ‘You got this, you’re going to get blocked, you’re going to miss a few, but like just get the next one, get through the game because your team’s counting on you, you need to be a leader,’” the outside hitter said.
Sembower is one of two freshmen on the varsity team, which is a young team with nine of 15 players being underclassmen.
It can be hard to not let your sport overtake your life, especially at the level Sembower plays. Outside of volleyball, she likes to focus on other hobbies and projects. She is working on a charity that involves clothes donations.
With the addition of Sembower, the expectations for this season were high for the Bobcats, but that does not take away from their accomplishments, including the first program win against Santa Fe and Gainesville since 2019 and 2020, respectively.
As the top seed in their district tournament, Buchholz (17-5) earned a bye into the semifinals Tuesday in St. Augustine against the winner of Monday’s No. 4 St. Augustine Tocoi Creek (13-12) vs. No. 5 Orange Park Oakleaf (12-12) match. The Bobcats are going after their first district tourney title since 2019 when they advanced to the regional finals.
“We’re now in win-or-go-home mode. There is no we lost the match, let’s go back to the drawing board and figure out what we have to do better for the next match,” Medina said. “Our district this year is ours to lose.”
2025 Girls Volleyball District Tournaments 6A District 2
Category: Buchholz High School, High School Sports, Volleyball
