Soka Announces Addition of Men's Volleyball; Kushner Named Head Coach

Soka University of America Athletics announced the addition of Men's Volleyball as the department's 13th varsity sport. Director of Athletics Mike Moore would also announced the program's inaugural head coach, Taylor Kushner. The program will now begin recruiting for their inaugural season in Spring 2025.

"Men's Volleyball will be a great addition to the sports we offer at Soka University of America. It is a natural fit for Southern California, where there aren't many options for men's volleyball athletes to compete at the college level and have that experience," stated Moore. "I am excited that Taylor will be the coach to start the program. She has been passionate to grow men's volleyball at Soka. She has had great success at the high school, club level and college level.  She will be instrumental in creating a program and culture that our student athletes can enjoy."

 Kushner began her collegiate athletic career at UC Riverside and later continued her academic and athletic journey at Mt. San Jacinto College. During her time at MSJC, she solidified her position as the state's kill leader for two consecutive seasons. As a freshman, she tallied 525 kills, and as a sophomore she improved upon her previous year finishing with 567 kills. Kushner garnered Pacific Coast Athletic Conference Most Valuable Player in 2014, PCAC Player of the Week, and team MVP honors two years in a row.  She transferred from MSJC to CSU Los Angeles, where she had two outstanding seasons with the Golden Eagles. In 2015 she played in all 30 matches and appeared in 108 of the teams 109 sets played. Kushner finished with 229 kills in 2015 and 213 kills in 2016. She finished her volleyball career with the indoor and beach programs at Cal State Los Angeles.

Kushner began her collegiate coaching career at MSJC, where she served as an assistant coach for five seasons. Kushner guided the Eagles to two conference titles and assisted the first two seasons of the beach volleyball program.  She played an important role in the development of the beach volleyball program during her time with the Eagles. From there she became the head women's volleyball coach at Chaffey College, where she improved upon the previous year's record, bringing the team to a .500-win percentage and helped her athletes transfer to four-year universities as impact players and leaders on and off the court.