SPANISH FORT, Ala. —Spanish Fort volleyball stand out Taylor Morehouse signed to play for the Northwest-Shoals Community College Patriots in Muscle Shoals on Friday.

The 6-foot-plus front-row hitter/blocker specialist, who was sidelined with a serious knee injury much of the latter part of her senior season, said NW-SCC was a good fit for her on many levels.

“I love the coaches, the players are amazing, the school is very, very nice and I believe I can step in right away,” she said. “They wanted a left side hitter and I play left and right and middle and love to play all front row and they cross train so I hope to be in a lot. I think I'll fit in pretty decently.”

Spanish Fort volleyball coach Barclay Kercher said Morehouse moved up to varsity her sophomore year with a lot natural ability and quickly built on that to become a starter. But Kercher was also impressed with her drive, work ethic and enthusiasm. Later that attitude and inner strength would help her over come injury.

“Taylor has been a major part of Spanish Fort volleyball and basketball,” Kercher said. “She came on strong as a good hitter and worked hard to get better. She has persevered with injuries and kept working hard, especially this most traumatic one which was a knee injury. But she has that determination to battle back strong and make a career for herself at Shoals. We're proud of her and she is now our fourth volleyball player to sign.”

NW-SCC head coach Angie Byrd said Morehouse was impressive on film and would be needed on the front row right away.

“She goes hard. Have to like that. She's also versatile on the front row and coach Kercher already has her playing across the net and we really like that. She is very vocal and energetic on the court. We like our players to be intense and emotional, but still communicate well and she does that. She has good instincts at the net on offense and defense.”

Kercher added that Morehouse did exemplify the Lady Toros' three “C’s” motto and approach to the game: “Communication, coverage and celebration,” she said.

SFHS girls athletic director George Brown, who also coached Morehouse in basketball said “We’re proud of Taylor for her achievement and also for overcoming a lot of adversity to get there. And that tells you what kind of person she is. She didn't let injury get her down. A lot of people with that kind of injury would have given up, but she worked hard and now she’s going to play volleyball at Northwest-Shoals Community College.

Morehouse said there were a lot of people to thank for getting her to the next level.

“Definitely my parents who were a huge help and all my coaches, the (SFHS) trainers and of course Dr. (Dan) Matthews. I couldn't have done it without them,” she said.

The daughter of Suzy and Chris Morehouse, Taylor plans to major in elementary education with a specialty in kindergarten.