Aquinas’ Taylor and Ferguson are the Broward Beach Volleyball Players of the Year
St. Thomas Aquinas’ Zoe Taylor loves playing indoor volleyball.
But it’s on the sand where she earned her chance to play in college.
Already part of the top team in Broward as a junior, Taylor needed a new partner this season for the beach season.
She found one in fellow senior Zsa Zsa Ferguson.
The two meshed quickly and became the top pair in Broward County this season, leading the Raiders to their best finish yet as they advanced to the state semifinals.
As such, Taylor and Ferguson are the Miami Herald’s Broward County Beach Volleyball Players of the Year.
“The transition was easy,” said Taylor, who is one of the Herald’s Players of the Year for the second consecutive season after winning the award last year with Halley Tang. “We had a great connection on and off the court.”
Taylor is headed to LSU to play beach volleyball after a stellar career.
Ferguson had been playing beach for nearly three years, as well as four years of indoor volleyball in high school.
Taylor and Ferguson formed a formidable duo at the top of Aquinas’ lineup, leading the Raiders to a 19-0 record until losing to eventual state champion Gulf Breeze in the state semifinals.
Aquinas persevered through a tough weekend in Tallahassee at the state tournament which was delayed multiple times due to tornadoes in the area. The Raiders managed to beat Merritt Island and Vero Beach - two of the state’s best - to advance further than they ever had.
“Communication was a big part in our development,” Ferguson said. “You need to know each other’s emotions and everything about them. It was shocking how far we made it, when we went to state. We have never made it that far.”
