MORAGA, Calif. – Following the departure of Assistant Coach Haley Domeck due to family medical circumstances, Saint Mary's Beach Volleyball Head Coach Janice Harrer was able to recruit an elite professional beach volleyball player to be her second in command, as the Gaels have added Taylor Crabb to their coaching staff. Coach Crabb is a prolific professional beach volleyball player with nine years on the professional tour. He will now enter the collegiate coaching ranks for the first time in his career, while continuing to compete professionally. 

"I'd like to thank Saint Mary's Athletics and Coach Janice Harrer for considering me and for believing that I would be the best fit for this position and program." noted Coach Crabb, "As this is my first collegiate job, I know that there's a lot more that goes on behind the scenes beyond just coaching, but I am excited for the opportunity to learn and grow, and I will give everything that I have to make Saint Mary's Beach Volleyball great!"

Hailing from Honolulu, Crabb was born into a volleyball family. His father Chris enjoyed a professional indoor and beach volleyball career, while his uncle, Tony, helped guide the 1984 USA Men's Indoor Volleyball Team to gold at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Crabb played collegiately at Long Beach State, where he was a two-time All-American, and was named the National Player of the Year as a junior after leading the NCAA with 502 kills. In his final two seasons at Long Beach State, Coach Crabb was coached by current Saint Mary's Women's Volleyball Coach Tyler Hildebrand, who also coached Crabb to the Olympics in Tokyo in 2021, calling Coach Hildebrand "My favorite coach I've ever had, beach or indoor. I've learned so much from him and think the world of him as a coach, so having him here was an added bonus." 

Following his graduation from Long Beach State, Crabb played one season of professional indoor volleyball in France before returning to the beach medium of the sport professionally thereafter. In his first two seasons, he partnered with his brother Trevor to win three NORCECA (North, Central American and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation) events, and tallied 793 digs over his first two full seasons in the AVP. He won his first two AVP events in 2017, partnering with Jake Gibb, and won six more with Gibb in between 2018-2019, being named the AVP MVP in both of those seasons. Crabb and Gibb were selected to play together in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, where he once again was coached by Coach Hildebrand. Crabb boasts an illustrious professional resume that included 13 tournament titles, six AVP Defender of the Year awards and two AVP MVP honors. 

"As I've gotten older, I've started to think about what the next step in my professional career is, and I've always wanted to give coaching a shot." said Crabb, "This is an excellent opportunity, a great team, an incredible academic institution in an awesome location that I wanted to be a part of!"

Crabb and Coach Harrer have been connected prior to this opportunity. Harrer has known the Crabb family from their time shared as members of Waikiki's elite Outrigger Canoe Club volleyball community, and has known Taylor since he first began playing on the Baby Court of the Outrigger Club. It was at the Outrigger where Coach Harrer struck up a conversation with Crabb about beginning his collegiate coaching career that led to this opportunity. 

"Taylor brings a wealth of experience, technical skill, and a track record of success to Saint Mary's Beach Volleyball!" exclaimed Coach Harrer, "His expertise and knowledge will bring innovation, elevate team performance. Taylor and I have a common background, being part of the Outrigger Canoe Club family in Honolulu, Hawaii. While training and playing as a professional, I was able to watch Taylor's skills develop as a young volleyball player. Bringing  strategic insight, Taylor will help raise the level of play and enhance our competitive impact. This  addition reinforces the SMC commitment to excellence and positions us for continued success in achieving our goals."

When asked what he thinks he can bring to the Gaels program, Coach Crabb shared:

"I look forward to bringing all of my experience from my collegiate career to my time as an Olympian and everything in between to this program, helping guide these student athletes on how to compete at the highest level. How to hold yourself to a higher standard, how to come to practice every day with the mindset of no matter what is going on in your life outside of volleyball, you can come in and you can be better for you and for your team, and play for more than just yourself."

Coach Crabb will make his collegiate coaching debut alongside Coach Harrer and the Gaels in less than a month in Phoenix. 

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